William Cowper, an 18th century poet and hymn writer, once said, “Satan trembles when he sees the weakest Christian on his knees.” On Wednesday, September 28th, students across the United States gathered around their school’s flagpole to worship and pray for our country.
“See You At The Pole” is an initiative that encourages students to pray for our country as well as their family, school, fellow students, and anything else the Lord lays on their heart. It is amazing to see God work all over the country through this program. This is a special day for thousands of Christian students throughout the US as it is a public opportunity to display their faith. But for the students of Westlake, this day does not hold the same amount of significance, because prayer is practiced every day.
This daily practice of prayer is one of the things that makes Westlake such a powerful environment for our students. Praying together in class, outside of class, at sporting events and many other moments in between, brings togetherness and deeper relationships not only with each other as one body in a school, but as one body together in Christ.
Students also get to witness when prayer has been answered and celebrate together. For example, if you ever had Mrs. Jackson in third grade, she had a unique way of celebrating answered prayer. When a prayer had been answered, students would take their prayer, already on a strip of paper ,and they would add it to the paper chain they had, hanging on the wall around the classroom. When you walked into that classroom, you were able to witness the amount of answered prayer that those students had experienced and praised God for. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” 1 John 15:4.
“Prayer is the voice of the Psalmists,” said Mr. Tantillo, Jr High discipleship director & Bible teacher here at Westlake. “It is angry, it is passionate, it is doubtful, it is joyful and it is above all things, real.”
Prayer is our direct line to Christ. It is how we communicate our praise, our sorrows, our passions, our sadness, our worries and so many other things, to the one who created it all. Mr. Tantillo also makes a point to say that prayer should either celebrate faith or grow it, through wrestling and listening.
To a student who attends public school this day, SYATP, is likely a unique and exciting event because they are able gather with other believers, at a place where God is not seen as the main focus. And at WCA we join in that day as a show of support and prayer for those students stepping out in faith. However, the very next day, Westlake will gather together and do it all over again because that is what we are called to do. “Pray without ceasing,” 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
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