Are you are burdened for the next generation? Do you look for ways to serve and connect with unchurched children, teens, and their parents? If so, I have an idea for you for the upcoming year. It is called a “Back to School Prayer Retreat.”
We recently visited Spokane Baptist Church in Spokane, Washington. While we were there, they had their third annual Back to School Prayer Retreat. My wife and I took part in the retreat and were profoundly blessed. More than this, we were excited to get the idea of this kind of retreat out there for others to consider.
The leaders of Spokane Baptist Church are very burdened for their community’s children. Beyond their church’s regular children’s ministries, they also host a Vacation Bible School each year. They go all out for VBS and have a real love for the community’s kids.
Among their church membership and attendees are several school teachers as well. With this big heart for children, God has given them an idea for how show the love of Christ to them and their families in special way. What they have done has really blessed their congregation and has resonated with the community. That idea is what has become their annual Back to School Prayer Retreat.
What is a Back to School Prayer Retreat?
This is a half-day prayer meeting. Church members come and spend the afternoon in prayer, much of it in individual prayer. Some might immediately think that this either impractical or that would be too difficult to get people to participate. A whole afternoon in prayer, really? As we discovered by participating in this prayer retreat, there are ways to do this that are both spiritually and practically effective. It is possible to help a group stay focused on prayer in such a way that they spend an afternoon in prayer and still look forward to next time they get to do so.
Schedule for the retreat
Take a moment to look at first document from this year’s retreat at the end of this article. The first page has the schedule. Notice that it begins with lunch and ends with dinner on the grounds. There is child care available for those that need it, courtesy the youth group.
The schedule includes three 45-minute blocks of time devoted completely to private prayer. These blocks of private prayer are interspersed with short times of devotional instruction about prayer for children, a song or two, then group prayer. This schedule proves very profitable both spiritually and practically. It allowed for a change of pace and a reset to help enable us to pray.
Themed rooms for prayer
One the second page of that document, there is a map of their church facilities. Four rooms are highlighted on the map, each with a category of people the corresponding room focuses on for prayer: “SBC Kids” (children that attend church), “VBS kids” (all kids that have attended VBS in recent years), “Teens” (all teens who have attended church or youth activities in recent years), and “College and Teachers” (those in college and those that serve as school teachers). These four rooms are where people pray.
Nuts and bolts of individual prayer
Each of these four rooms has tables covered with papers. These papers have names on them corresponding to the labelled category. For example, in the VBS kids room, each paper has the name of a child that has attended VBS. Those praying pause at that page, pray for that specific child, then sign their name on the page indicating that they spent time in prayer for that child. If they want to, the person praying can jot a simple note or put a Bible verse reference.
Those praying go from page to page on each table praying for each child. They then sign each page when they have prayed for that person. Once everyone in that room is prayed for, then the intercessor goes to the next room and prays. As you can imagine, the room with the most papers representing children to pray for by far was the VBS kids room.
As we participated in this, we saw that people started at different rooms and prayed at their own pace. There was no competition or pressure on those praying in any way.
Instruction on how to pray for so many
How is it possible to pray for so many people individually this way? The intervening sessions for instruction in the schedule help provide ideas for how to do this. The focus was on learning to pray brief Spirit-led prayers.
The second document below shows the provided prayer prompts. The pastors encouraged us to pray short prayers for each child, praying as the Lord led. In my case, I asked God for verses from Scripture to pray for different ones. If I prayed a specific verse for someone, I wrote that reference down after my signature on that person’s page. If participants prayed for the names of every person represented with a page on all of the tables, he/she would have prayed for over 300 people that afternoon.
Spiritual Blessings For the Participants
A half day dedicated to prayer like this has tremendous benefits. For each person participating in prayer, it is a devotionally rich time before the Lord. How so? It is several hours dedicated completely to intercession on behalf of the next generation. Talking to God on behalf of others is an exercise of our priestly ministry as believers, a ministry we often neglect (1Pet 2:9-10; 1Tim 2:1-4). It reminds us of the heart of God for the lost. We find joy in using our privilege to access grace on behalf of others, even those that don’t yet know that they need God.
Several hours of pleading for God’s grace to be at work in the hearts of children, young adults, and those that teach them deepens our spiritual burden for them. It sobers our spirits. It heightens our sense of responsibility. We feel moved to action, to find our part in helping reach them for Christ or help those that already know Him to grow deep roots in their faith. This same dynamic is built into Jesus’ command to pray for the harvest, specifically that God would send out labors (Mt 9:36-38).
A prayer retreat like this can introduce Christians to a greater ministry of prayer than they have previously known. Some have never prayed for more than a few minutes at a time. An organized and dedicated time of prayer shows us that we actually can set aside blocks of time in intercession. It is an effective time of instruction about prayer.
Yes, we actually can set aside blocks of time in intercession.
A focus like this reminds us of our need for God, our weakness. We are forced to reckon with our prayerlessness. Even as we delight in the time in prayer we just experienced, we are convicted about how hard our flesh resists such focused prayer. Such prayer humbles us and moves us to seek God’s grace even to pray. It reminds very strongly that without Him we are nothing and can bear no lasting spiritual fruit apart from Him (Jn 15:4-5).
A prayer retreat is an exercise in faith. Faith motivates us to set aside time to pray this way. Faith and love conquers our selfishness and flesh dependence and moves us to focus on others. Prayer emphases like these give a sense of expectation that God will work, for we obeyed His command to pray (Jam 5:13-20).
The Powerful Conclusion to the Prayer Retreat
After the prayer retreat, a grand finale or sorts takes place. Each page filled with signatures of those who have prayed is given to the person whose name is on the page. Some are mailed and some are delivered in person to the family. A letter explaining what the church has done is given with the page, as well as an invitation to attend a church event. An example letters is below.
The response from those prayed for
Parents have expressed real gratitude for the prayers offered up for their children, knowing the unusual love this represents. The letters have been well-received and have proven to be life-changing for some. The congregation plans to continue this annual prayer retreat.
God has blessed the children’s ministry of SBC. No doubt one reason for this is the focused prayers of His people on their behalf. As we pray, the love of Christ in us deepens for those for whom we pray.
Whether church numbers grow or not, the reality is this: it is impossible to have such an emphasis on prayer for the next generation and not see God’s blessing. Why? “God gives grace to the humble” (1Pet 5:5). Intercessory prayer is an exercise in humility.
Intercessory prayer is spiritual warfare, accessing spiritual grace and power, for the sake of others. It is hard to do, called “striving” by the apostle Paul (Rom 15:30). It is even spiritual warfare to bring ourselves to intercede in prayer for others at all.
“Nothing will so test and stimulate the Christian life as the honest attempt to be an intercessor.”
Andrew Murray (from The Ministry of Intercession: A Plea For More Prayer)
As you plan for ministry in the coming year, I encourage you to consider something like a Back to School Prayer Retreat in your local church, small groups, or school.
