Day 5 – Supplication
Written by: Bill Johnston
One of the best ways you can invest in the lives of the children with whom you are called to minister is to pray for them and their families. Prayer is the means God can use to help you grow in a deeper concern for and love of each particular person. As the year unfolds and you come to know them more and more, your prayers will become more personal and specific.
The weekly habit of praying for each child prior to Sunday will make their presence with you all the sweeter and their absence all the more noticeable. One suggestion is to divide up the list of students over the days of the week and pray for that smaller list rather than a daily or weekly “bless them all” generic prayer. During the day, be sensitive to a name or face that comes to you mind and offer up a brief prayer even if you do not know the reason to do so.
Ask them “how can I be praying for you?” Send them a note during the week letting them know that you have prayed for them especially if you know that they are facing a particular challenge or celebration. This will communicate to them just how important they are to you and to Jesus.
Years from now, they may not remember all of the fantastic lessons from God’s Word that you will share with them, but they will remember your personal concern and dedicated prayers for them.
James writes in his small letter “Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? Let him call the elders of the church; and let them pray over them, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” James 5:13-14. The word “sick” in this passage can also mean “weak or weary.” It carries the idea that when someone is struggling spiritually or physically it sure is a blessing to know that there is someone that they can count on to be praying for them. Will your students know that you are willing to invest in them by praying for them?
Right now as a servant of Jesus Christ, make a commitment to be a person of prayer specifically for your students and their families.
Bill Johnston is a native of Mobile but has lived most of his life in the Birmingham area. A graduate of Hewitt-Trussville High School, Jacksonville State University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (D. Min), Bill is married to Janet Dickerson Johnston with two sons, Will and Rob. In his free time, Bill enjoys playing golf, watching Alabama football and UAB basketball, and reading and spending time with his family. Bill has served in churches in Texas and Alabama and has been the Associate Pastor at Dawson since August of 2006.