All of Us Pray
"One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.” Psalm 145:4
“So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come." Psalm 71:18
What happens when congregants worship side by side and pray for one another across age groups? They begin to know one another. What happens as people get to know one another and pray for one another? They begin to care for one another. The church flourishes as its people grow rich in love and care for one another. A third outcome occurs as well. As John writes “…all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35. Outsiders can see that these are people who know God. The church gets a second look by those outside their doors.
Pastors call this Intergenerational ministry or IG for short. It’s when the body of Christ connects with one another. It’s when they worship as one. It’s when we pass faith from one generation to the other. The early church didn’t need a name for this. There was no siloing. The church was so united that not only did they share food, housing, and goods, but they fled for their lives together creating the diaspora that spread the Gospel. If you called yourself a follower of Jesus, you were not only committed to Jesus but aware it might cost you your life.
But in the U.S., in many of our churches lack of IG is noticeable and its absence has both long and short-term impacts. Young people in the formative stages of their faith are vulnerable to cultural temptations and likely to ignore their parents’ directives. Ironically they worship beside other adults who often carry hard-won wisdom from God. Older adults often feel side stepped as our youth culture is reflected in pulpit references and their friendships with younger families dwindle. George Barna, who leads the well-respected faith and culture research entity The Barna Group, notes that one that trait seems consistent to adult children who continue to attend or return to church after college is that they felt connected to other adults in the church. They had established relationships of trust with non-family members.
One Hundred Year Ministries: Our generation for the Next launched the Pray with Me campaign specifically to forge intergenerational church relationships. Created by Tony Souder, executive director, it invites young people to ask three non-family adults to pray for them. “It’s designed to link to the generations through prayer and to create unity rather than division” Souder has written two books that serve as guides, one for praying for youth and the other for children. Programs like this require tailoring and ongoing support from church leadership, but when executed well, can become the backbone for IG ministry. The Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) featured Pray for Me in a 2016 issue of ByFaith magazine. www.byfaithonlinepray-for-me-campaign.com
My church in St. Louis is using a small book called 5 Things to Pray for Your Kids: Prayers That Change Things for the Next Generation * by Melissa B. Kruger in a similar way. Because Children’s Ministry ceased in its usual forms of Sunday School and joint worship experience, we adopted Kruger’s wisdom for use within our congregation. Kruger delivers prayer prompts straight from the Word of God to the heart of any Christ-following parent, but they can easily be adapted for intergenerational prayer. There are 21 weeks of prayers, each centered on one text of Scripture with a corresponding prayer theme: Praying that My Child will be: Saved, Wise, Be Content in All things . . . and much more.
The guide cuts through wandering, unorganized, and even those sometimes awkward prayers with your spouse—all of which God hears of course. 5 Things to Pray for Your Kids steers you in the direction God desires for children using his words. It’s a great reminder that God’s goal isn’t for our children to get straight As, win a scholarship to college, or make the varsity basketball team as a freshman. It’s for each of them to love God with all their heart and soul. The Scriptures are so appropriate that by placing your child’s name within the verse, adjusting a pronoun or two, you can pray a very sweet and earnest petition. “Let my child draw near to you, God, with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings.” Hebrews 10:22. You don’t pray well for someone without knowing their needs, their circumstances that are unique to them. Parents have a front-row seat on this. Other adults will need to do some exploring and ask good questions of the student for whom they pray.
Stash this book in your purse or your car console. When your prompted to scroll through your phone to kill time, this book will guide you in listening to God in a way no Facebook, Apple News or “catch-up chat” can.
* (Published by The Good Book Company, Epsom, UK. Available on Amazon for $5.99.