It’s that time of year again. Parents are shopping for clothing, uniforms, and supplies as they prepare for their children to go back to school. This is a routine yearly occurrence nationwide. With tensions high in our nation, due to policies and acts of violence that have transpired over the past few months, one might say that our children and schools need more prayer covering now. It’s not just the possibility of threats from outside, but also within. Intercessors stand in the gap between God and man; it’s what we do. Will you help us cover our most precious commodity and schools in prayer across America?

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Intercessors for America has featured Lock The Shields in articles once a year for several years, and has also had founder Keli Caraveo appear on a Thursday National webcast. Lock the Shields has a vision of uniting people of prayer across America by adopting a campus and committing to pray on site and throughout the school year. When the ministry first began, it was local and impacted the San Antonio region and a few surrounding cities. Within a few short years, the Lord has multiplied the ministry, and now they are in 44 states. 

Last year, when IFA posted an article, an intercessor from Houston contacted Keli, connecting her to Campus Alliance, with whom she partners as well as other local ministries. “We know that we are not the only ones gathering to pray for schools, and that’s amazing. It’s a beautiful thing when churches and ministries catch the vision and unify for the greater good,” Keli said. What is more important and worth protecting than our children? They are our future leaders and history makers. Our intercession on behalf of the next generation is vital.

 On Sunday, August 10th, Lock the Shields is asking for families to pray on campus at their children’s schools and for believers to pray at a local campus in their community. “It’s important for people to know their identity. Yes, we are regular people, but we are also sons and daughters of God. When we pray, He hears us, and people need to know that their prayers matter,” Keli said. 

“All this week, different ministries will be praying for children going back to school, as some are returning the next week. Some people go together after church on Sunday, and others gather at their convenience. We are flexible on purpose,” Keli said. “The reason LTS chooses Sunday is because no one is there. It’s much easier to gather and pray, rather than during the school week when it will be busier. We are not trying for massive numbers either. It’s about the quality, not the quantity. If you have a heart for children and want to pray for schools, that’s all that matters.” 

Prayer Works 

Keli shared a testimony of the fruit of answered prayer at an adopted campus. One mother from a local school called and reported that a student brought a gun to school and planned a shooting, but when it became aware, it was quickly handled; thankfully, those plans never came to pass. These types of exposures have happened more than once. “This is one of our major prayer points for schools. For the Holy Spirit to raise awareness before tragedy strikes, that the enemy’s plans will be exposed before they are carried out in our schools.” 

She also shared that after she and a team of intercessors prayed for a group of student leaders, they eagerly invited them to come and pray for them again. This time, Keli instructed the student leaders to lay hands on and pray for the other students, and they did. “I feel like we were seeing generational unity. This is needed for the younger generations. The more unity I see with students and in prayer streams and churches, the more I see the fulfillment of John 17:20  when Jesus prayed that we would be one in Him with the Father, Keli said. 

Prayer Strategies

Aside from adopting campuses, Lock The Shields also does monthly prayer walks at the schools. During these times of prayer, they specifically ask God to reveal His heart for the campus, which provides targeted prayers for each school. 

“We always ask God to show us His heart, not ours. It’s easy to look at a school and complain and name 1,000,000 things we see wrong about it, but what does God see? We already know about the bad reports we hear, but we choose to believe the Lord’s report as we seek His face. We are seated in heavenly places (see Ephesians 2:4-6). We choose to come up higher above the noise. We want to see what He sees and pray what He prays.”

“We do have prayer guides available, but we also want to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit by asking Him what’s on His heart. What do you see and say about this? Then we come into agreement and pray for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. We must focus on God, not on the darkness we see. Of course, this is spiritual warfare, but we use God’s Word and make war with it, and after He reveals His will, we agree with Him. This is the heart of intercession. This is walking by faith and not by sight, Keli said.”

Praying for our children is fundamental for every believer. You would be hard pressed to find a Christian parent who does not pray for their children. But remember, many children in your child’s school or classroom may not come from a Christian family rooted in Biblical values or have parents who pray for them. This is why intercessors exist. We fill those gaps and repair the breaches. 

Some stand for government, some for family, business, etc. We are asking for intercessors to stand for our children and schools. What if every school and every campus had someone interceding? Can you imagine what could happen? I imagine we would see heaven invading Earth on our school campuses. If that sounds good to you, let’s put feet to our prayers. Commit to pray for all the children going back to school, adopting a campus, and doing a prayer walk. Let’s link our prayer shields over our schools and cities for the next generation. 

Father,

We thank You. During so much spiritual darkness in our nation, we still see You at work. Unity is growing, Your people are praying, and You are hearing and responding. We love You. We ask for an army of intercessors to arise and cover our school campuses of all ages. We want to see Your will be done in our schools. We want to see children and youth on fire, with little hearts that burn for Jesus. We want to see our youth fulfilling the great commission in their schools. 

We plead Your blood over our children and ask for a hedge of protection, a literal prayer shield from the plans of the enemy to harm our kids in school physically. We pray for a move of the Holy Spirit in every campus to combat hate with the love of Jesus, and fear and anxiety with the mind of Christ. Wisdom comes from You, Lord, and our children need it. We do pray for wisdom and discernment so that they will not be victims of teaching rooted in Marxism. 

The education sphere is a harvest field, and it is ripe for salvation. Our children need You. Our educators and parents need You, our school boards need You. Teach us how to strike the mark in prayer. Show us Your plans and Your will, and we will agree with You. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

To learn more about adopting a campus, visit  Lock The Shields. 

How are you praying this back-to-school season?

IFA contributing writer Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor and listen to her podcast, Something To Share. Photo Credit: Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images.