APRAYED4CITY JULY 2013 PRAYER GUIDE

Thank you for joining with us to pray for the Dallas Metroplex today, July 7 and throughout the month of July.  

JULY 2013 PRAYER GUIDE

“Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.”  Proverbs 4:13

According to the 2013 Kids Count study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Texas ranks 30th among U.S. states for economic well-being, 36th in child healthcare, 48th in families and communities and

31st in education.

“Children aren’t faring very well in our community and across Texas.  What we see is kids are really suffering before they really get their shot at life,” “This is something that collectively we all should be concerned about.  Children of all circumstances make up our future.”

Daphne Barlow Stigliano,

President of the Boys & Girls Clubs

of Greater Fort Worth

This month AP4C is highlighting education.  It is our intention for believers from all ethnic, socio-economic and denominational backgrounds to unite in prayer and use this guide as a catalyst for our on-going prayer and the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom. 

Let these Scriptures and your time with God renew your heart for our Metroplex.  Please prepare your heart before you begin to pray through the AP4C   categories. 

SALVATION

Start children off the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”  Proverbs 22:6

“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:11-12

Thank the Lord for the Christian students, administrators, teachers and staff He has placed within our schools.

Pray for God to open the door for the Gospel to be proclaimed on our school campuses in the context of genuine personal relationships between students, teachers, administrators, parents, and volunteers.

Pray for God to touch the hearts of those who don’t know Him so they can respond to God’s love and free gift of salvation through Jesus.

DISCIPLESHIP

And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”  James 2:15-17

Pray that Christian teachers and administrators will be wise, godly, caring individuals who will have a powerful impact within their schools.  Pray for wisdom and guidance as they navigate topics such as world religion, literature, science, and history.  Help them watch for opportunities to teach truth and dispel lies.

Pray for Christian students to be powerful witnesses for Christ even when that’s difficult. Pray for them to hunger after truth and righteousness and learn how to think through the lens of God’s Word.

Ask the Lord to open all our eyes to see injustice and oppression and to move us to advocate and volunteer.  Pray for the Church to respond with urgency to the education needs within the Metroplex.  Pray that God will raise up faithful intercessors to pray for students, parents, teachers and administrators on an on-going basis.

COMMUNITY

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”  Proverbs 12:12

“Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”  Nehemiah 1:11

Pray that parents would be genuinely interested in their children’s education; that they would take an active role in their children’s lives; and that they would respect, support, and cooperate with teachers.

Pray that students will be academically and emotionally prepared for college, the military, and/or a living-wage job when they graduate becoming productive members of our communities.

Pray for God to watch over our schools and to keep all students, staff, family, and volunteers safe from harm.

Pray that God will grant favor to the Church and open the hearts of all district and school administration, allowing us access to serve every public school. Praise the Lord for opening most of our local districts.

TRANSFORMATION

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” Colossians 2:8

Pray for God to raise up devoted teachers and principals who will serve as positive role models for our students. Pray for wisdom for them as they make efforts to improve the schools and endurance as they face daily trials.

Pray for emotional and physical protection for the superintendents, principals, and other administrators of our school districts as they make tough hiring and firing decisions.

Pray for curriculum creators and textbook writers to be guided by the Spirit of Truth as they develop future educational materials.

Pray for the state of education in our country.

THE STATE OF EDUCATION

Every year, 5,000 students in Dallas County fail to graduate.

Only 9% of DISD students who do graduate are college-ready.

By 3rd grade, only 40% of Dallas County students are reading at a level on track for college.  By 4th grade, that number has already dropped to closer to 30%.  Not reading at grade level by the 3rd grade is a strong indicator of future drop-outs, poverty and incarceration.

There is an overall low level and a consistently wide gap between the testing achievement for literacy between students who are economically disadvantaged compared with students who are not.

There are over 460,000 K-12 children in Dallas County.  91% of them go to public schools.  87% of DISD families are eligible for government benefits.

Think this is limited to Dallas County?  There are 24 campuses in Plano ISD alone attended by mostly low-income children.

“In these kids eyes, going to college is as achievable as going to the moon.”

Byron Sanders, Dallas Education Foundation

Should a child’s future success be limited by their parents’ income?  With the right opportunities, they can accomplish as much as any other.

What additional obstacles do children in low-income families have outside of the classroom?

Their families typically move more often.

Children in many low-income communities across the Metroplex don’t have access to healthy, affordable food outside of school.  Lack of a balanced breakfast makes it harder to pay attention and to think.

To make ends meet, parents often have to work long hours sometimes leaving the children unsupervised after school. 

Poverty is stressful—not only for the adults but also for the children.

What can the Church do?

Over 160 church-school partnerships have been identified across Greater Dallas.  The goal is for every low-income school to eventually have at least one church partner.

Hundreds of cross-trained tutors/mentors are needed at the beginning of the school year and the 2nd semester.  Strengthening and empowering low-income families and communities—especially through churches located in those communities—will create homes and neighborhoods more conducive to learning.