The act of praying can mean many things to many people. For the Christian, prayer is a regular practice and cornerstone of their relationship with God. It is a way of communicating with Him through praise, confession, thankfulness or intercession.
In this season of thanksgiving, The Oceana Echo reached out to two local prayer leaders and asked if they would share more on the topic and their involvement with the international prayer group Moms in Prayer (MIP).
Monica DeWitt, leader of MIP for Shelby Public Schools, has been involved with the group for over 10 years, saying, “I first heard about it at church. There was an active group already praying for Hart Schools, but my kids were going to Shelby.
According to their website momsinprayer.org, MIP is a non-denominational Christian prayer movement of mothers, grandmothers and other women who have a heart for children and schools. They are not a special interest group and do not support any particular political or social agenda. They seek to impact children and schools with Christ by gathering moms to pray on a weekly basis. The organization has MIP groups in 150 countries and all 50 states.
These prayer groups are all organized around the same Statement of Faith and Ministry Policies. Groups also stay focused on prayer (not the sharing of requests), sticking to a one-hour prayer meeting using the format provided by MIP, and start and end on time. The prayer format is biblical, always beginning with an attribute of God. Moms then pray individual names into scripture so that they know they are praying in God’s will. Most importantly, all prayers are kept confidential.
“We are in our eleventh year,” said Lee Nienhuis, MIP leader for Hart Schools. “We don’t do gossip. We don’t spend time talking. We spend time praying. We want to focus on what God is doing.”
DeWitt said she started the Shelby MIP group by reaching out to friends and parents who she knew prayed. “Women have rotated in and out over the years, yet we’ve maintained between four and eight moms. Like everything else, we struggled during the pandemic. It was hard to get people to commit. But I kept praying. Then all of a sudden someone brought a friend, and our group exploded. Not only is our MIP group seeing growth, but other parachurch ministries have started up and are supporting students in the Shelby area as well.”
Groups pray for schools, but they do not meet in schools and they don’t solicit prayer requests. Instead, each prayer time opens with “praise” for who God is, His attributes, His name or His character. This is followed by “confession” - a time to silently confess any known sin — then giving “thanks” for the things God has done, and ending with “intercession,” when the moms pray for the needs of others.
“In our first year, there were 13 different students who gave their lives to Christ. Student-led Bible studies and prayer groups were started and are still ongoing. We believe prayer is the best investment we can make as moms. When we work, we work, but when we pray, God works,” Nienhuis said.
DeWitt added, “During our time of intercession, we pray for the students, teachers and administration. One of my favorite things about being in MIP is when people reach out to us with prayer requests or answers to prayer. According to MIP guidelines, we don’t solicit requests, but it is so rewarding when someone who has asked for prayer receives an answer. I love to see God work. We have seen the results of our prayer so many times.”
“So often there’s something we want to ‘do’ when someone has a need. We know there are many needs we know nothing about. But we believe God knows them all, and lifting them up to Him is such a privilege. Due to our confidentiality policy, we can’t share any specifics, however, we’ve seen so many answers. We’ve seen people come to Jesus, we’ve seen relationships restored and probably the biggest answers are the way God provides for people. We’ve prayed about housing needs, food needs and health needs. The way God has come through is unbelievable and only something He could do. It’s been a blessing to our group, but even more so a huge testimony to the families who are impacted,” DeWitt shared enthusiastically.
“If you asked us how many times we’ve prayed for the administration at Hart Schools, I could easily say thousands of times. What a privilege. We don’t see prayer as a weapon. We are pro-school, pro-teacher and pro-student,” shared Nienhuis.
DeWitt also shared an unexpected blessing as a result of her involvement with MIP. “One of our members recently shared that one of her relatives in California was feeling discouraged and didn’t know what God had for her. Our MIP member told her family member about MIP and what an encouragement the group had been to her. Her relative was so intrigued she ended up finding and joining a local MIP group in California, where she now enjoys fellowship and purpose through prayer.
“God doesn’t always answer every prayer the way we want Him to, but I believe He is sovereign, and trust His plan. Probably the best part of being in this group has been seeing those we’ve prayed for experience real answers to prayer. When they know you are praying and they receive an answer, they can’t deny prayer works,” DeWitt concluded.
MIP International also offers Grandmothers in Prayer and Teachers in Prayer groups. Visit www.momsinprayer.org for further information.
Both the Hart and Shelby MIP groups welcome other women to join them in praying for their children’s schools.
The Shelby MIP group meets Friday mornings at 8 a.m. Please email DeWitt at dewitt87@yahoo.com for more information.
The Hart MIP group meets Fridays at 8:30 a.m. Please email Nienhuis at leenienuis@gmail.com for more information.
