The Time is Now!

A blood-curdling scream cut through the noise and chaos that roared around the group like an angry monster about to pounce on its prey. The sound of the fury engulfing them sent their hearts racing with fear and their minds running with panic. Time seemed to stand still as the angry teeth of the tornado lashed out all around them, tearing to shreds the peaceful lives they lived just moments ago. Huddling in a kitchen freezer – cheek to elbow and arm to face – all that could be made out above the roar was a desperate woman screaming out, “Jesus!”

Times of desperation and panic bring out a momentary call to God in people like nothing else can. Hundreds of people who rarely ever pray suddenly find desperation and hope in God when destruction and calamity arises that go above the abilities of mankind to control. It’s a fact – people pray when there’s nothing else they can do.

Praying during these times is not wrong; we should always pray. The problem with prayer in most people’s lives is that it is only given during these times of calamities instead of on a daily basis. People use God like a first aid kit to fix their problems, or as a 911 call when they should be in touch with God continuously.

During times of destruction the U.S. government sends in the National Guard, FEMA, the Red Cross and other groups to assist in clean-up efforts. These groups train for disasters before they happen so they know what to expect, what to prepare for, what to bring, who to call, and how to organize everything in between. Hurricane Katrina showed failures in this pre-planning effort which enraged thousands of people, lost lives, cost millions of dollars and forced governmental changes in drastic measures. Lessons were learned – the hard way.

As human beings we expect our government to take care of us in such matters, but when it comes to personal matters, where is our own responsibility? Why do we hold our government to higher standards than we hold ourselves? Why do we expect these organizations to prepare for trouble when we don’t prepare for troubles in our own lives? Why don’t we pray BEFORE the battle rages?

The time to pray is not just after a calamity has fallen. When we pray ahead of time we prepare ourselves mentally and spiritually for what will happen down the road. Prayer directs us to God’s purpose. Prayer keeps us submissive. Prayer keeps us in God’s will. Prayer puts God’s kingdom first. When we have a consistent prayer life and troubles arise – as they will – we can be at peace because we understand that life isn’t about US, but about HIM. We see the bigger picture. We see that ultimately we are created for HIM and not HIM for US. Our trust in God remains and instead of becoming bitter, we become better.

What does this have to do with Kids Prayer? The mission of Kids Prayer is to train our children to pray. To train, we first must pray ourselves and model what we expect them to learn. If we are not praying, they will not pray. If we become distraught and bitter over troubles then they will as well. If we do not prepare them ahead of time, then when the battle comes they will not be prepared.

Troubles come expectedly, just like storms and tornados. They leave a path of destruction that sometimes can never be fully recovered from. Schools have fire and tornado drills. Cities sound alarms. Television stations broadcast minute-by-minute coverage. Why don’t we put as much emphasis on preparing our children in spiritual matters as well? Why don’t we train them to know how to respond ahead of time when fear, panic and emotion overtake their thinking and they don’t know what to do?

Gameboys, Xboxes, Disney, music and all the media of this world cannot save a child from despair, drugs, alcohol, violence, crime or any such thing, but prayer can. The time is now.

Colleen Clabaugh