Irish Takeover Week: Schools that PrayBeth Tays - 12 Aug 2011

So far this year we have seen a prayer space in a schoolin Ireland in every month of What IF? For me I love asking the questions like ‘What IF we prayed for our school?’ or ‘What IF we really prayed for those sitting beside us in class? It’s a simple idea but seeing these What IFs being turned into realities in schools this year has been an immense privilege.

Prayer spaces have been springing up in both secondary and primary schools all over Ireland and each time they do I marvel at the fact that God is stirring hearts of teachers, pupils and youth workers alike to truly pray for their schools. It is God who is driving this movement and he is having a HUGE impact.
We are very lucky here in Ireland to be able to speak about God in many schools and we have a freedom that other countries may not have therefore it is amazing to see God speak into the everyday school life.

A prayer space in every month so far may seem like little but knowing the impact they are having fills me with joy! I think that sometimes we get bogged down by numbers, ‘how many where there tonight?’ or ‘the turn out is a bit low eh?’ assessing the success of an event on the quantity of people there rather than being encouraged by how God moved or spoke. Prayer spaces in schools have been amazing, not because there where millions gracing the doors of a sacred space but because in a very simply decorated creative space God has been speaking into the lives of pupils and teachers alike.

I sat in a prayer space in a primary school before Easter with a young boy who was going through a really difficult situation. As he sat in the prayer room he came to a realization that he was loved and that no matter what is going on God cares for him and has a future and a hope for him (Jeremiah 29.11).

prayer spaces have given them a place to ask questions, to vent, to process and to meet with God and develop their understanding of Him and His love. Here are some questions that have been asked in school prayer rooms
 

Will God ever write a new Bible?

Why does God love me?

If God wanted us to believe in him and creation then why did he create monkeys? Was he just giving us a reason to argue before we came to realise that he really did create us? If he didn’t create monkeys then that would have meant a lot less time wasted talking about evolution and black holes right?

I’m not sure I believe in God but there’s something in this room telling me he’s there. What is that?

Can I pray anything or do I have to say certain stuff?

How come I can’t hear Gods voice? I am doing something wrong?

Why did God let my mum get sick?

Ballymena Academy held an outreach week with ‘curious’ as its theme and a prayer room as part of this week. Even for the time I was in the room there was a constant hum of pupils being curious about what this was all about stepping in to see. Prayer spaces spark conversations where God is at the heart! Prayer spaces create inquisitiveness in teachers too and for some the knowledge that they are being prayed for is very powerful. I believe that this is only the tip of the iceberg. It is a privilege standing alongside pupils as they allow God to work their lives in various ways and I believe God has more for us here in our schools as we seek to be his light.