#23 - A Challenge For You As You Look To the Summer

[P.S. – I want to challenge you to PLEASE, PLEASE, either watch or program to tape “The Coral Ridge Hour” (which is really only a half-hour long) THIS SUNDAY and NEXT SUNDAY, May 16th and May 23rd. (In Orlando, it’s televised 5-5:30 pm on non-cable channel 40.1) These upcoming broadcasts will present a documentary entitled “Socialism: A Clear and Present Danger.” If you want to get a handle of what is wrong in our country (and much of the world) from a Christian perspective, you will want to take the time to get informed. I know, I know, it sounds like something you’d have to watch for school, but trust me, it will be “educational” like nothing you’ll ever hear in school. I guarantee that it will be well worth an investment of a total of just one hour of your life. ]

As you await (or have already started) your summer break from school, I was wondering if YOU took up the challenge I made to you at the beginning of this school year in posting #12 last August. Did you MAKE time (seeing that you always had time) to pray for any students or teachers in any of your classes, whether you new them or not? If you did do so, did God allow you to see anything happen as a result? (He may have done something as a result of your prayers (and possibly those of others) but chosen not to reveal it to you.) If not, this is a good time to honestly ask yourself – “why not?” In either case, I would really appreciate it if you would email me as to what result you may have seen or your reasons for not following through. (yonashiro@bellsouth.net)

I’m especially curious to know what made you not accept my challenge, even in part. Did I ask you too much? Is there something I don’t know that kept you from doing anything I challenged you to do? Was my challenge in some way inappropriate or unreasonable? Is it possible that you just don’t believe that praying makes any real difference? If so, or whatever the reason, please email me.

As you can tell, I’m a big believer in the power of prayer and in God’s calling on each of you to impact others for His Kingdom. I once prayed through the entire “Remembrance Book” of a nearby middle school – that is by name for every student whose name (and usually picture) appeared in it – in seven different areas (spiritual, social, emotional, physical, academic, mental, and stewardship). Of course, I have never met the vast majority of them, but as I prayed for them to place their trust in Christ, I developed an awareness (from God, I believe) that when I stand in Heaven one day, I could have many of them walk up to me and say, “Hi! We’ve never met, but I’ve been told that you prayed for me while I was on earth. I want to thank you because you were the only one who ever prayed for me and it was your prayer that God responded to in opening my heart to His gospel when I finally heard it presented. In other words, through your “words,” I was able to have a relationship with the Father and now will spend an eternity with Him in this incredible beyond words place called Heaven. Your prayer really made an eternal difference in my life!” Just ONE person saying that to me when I get there is just one of the things I look forward to when I get THERE.

You know, just because you’re going to be away from school for several months, it doesn’t mean that you can’t use some of the time ahead to still pray for those you met or even just know of through this past year in school. And so, as their names and faces are still fresh in your mind, I’d like to challenge you to right now pull out a sheet of paper and begin writing down the names of students, faculty, administrators, custodial staff, and any others whom God brought into your life this past year that you have not prayed for. Then, take time during the months ahead to pray for each one, even if it is only one person every day. Also, for those whom you can contact – whether by phone, email, Facebook, Twitter, or whatever – why not make a point to keep in some kind of regular contact and, if they are not yet believers in Christ, ask God for wisdom as to how to transition from something you are talking about to inquiring about their where they are spiritually. Sometime soon, I’ll share with you one of my recent experiences with that.