BY GREG MILLER
STAR Correspondent
Moms in Prayer International is holding regular meetings at Memorial Presbyterian Church.
“We meet in the parlor at Memorial Presbyterian Church, 100 E. “F” Street in Elizabethton,” said Elizabeth Mindemann, who is leading the meetings. “We meet Friday mornings from 10:30-11:30 a.m. We will not meet the week of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. We will follow the city school schedule not meeting when school is closed.” The first meeting was held at Memorial Presbyterian on Nov. 8.
Mindemann says she is “leading the only registered group here in Elizabethton. There may be other groups meeting informally but I am unaware of them and they are not registered with Moms in Prayer.”
The purpose of the meetings, according to Mindemann, is “to meet weekly to cover the schools (public and private) and colleges in our community in prayer. We pray for students, teachers, staff, parents and all who play a role in educating the children in our community.”
The sessions, Mindemann believes, can result in a positive impact on the community. “Scripture is full of encouragement to pray,” she said. “I also believe that Scripture is clear that all who claim Christ as their savior are part of one body with one goal, the spreading of the gospel (the good, indeed greatest, news). When we work together, come together in prayer and move forward in unity this is a witness to a watching world. Local churches are good and necessary. Local churches working together for the good of the community and the sharing of the gospel is also good and necessary. I believe a prayer group is one way to accomplish this and will be a good thing for the community.”
Mindemann says she is “a woman like any other striving to love my God who first loved me and love my neighbor as myself. As a follower of Christ, prayer has been a crucial part of my life.”
She views prayer “as a crucial part of the relationship I have with my Creator/Father. Praying continually for me looks like praying in the car, grocery store, washing dishes and doing other everyday errands. It also means praying with my children throughout the day. I don’t believe prayer is like rubbing a genie lamp but more like a phone call where I pour my heart out and read scripture to hear God’s words of truth ‘speaking’ back to me.
“In my life I have walked through loss of children, abuse at the hands of people who were charged with the job of caring for me and walking through trauma with family members and friends. Prayer (along with Scripture and fellowship with believers) has been a lifeline for me.”
Mindemann says prayer is a necessary part of a Christian believer’s life. “I believe scripture is clear that prayer is a vital part of the believer’s (individuals and corporately) life,” she remarked. “Jesus showed us how important prayer is by going away by himself to pray and giving us a template to use when praying. He gave directions on how to pray (not in front of crowds for attention but in gatherings and quietly as individuals) by saying ‘when you pray…’ This indicates to me that He assumes followers will pray.”
Using the Old Testament King Hezekiah as an example, Mindemann is convinced of the power of answered prayer. “Probably one of my favorite historical stories recorded in Scripture regarding prayer is that of King Hezekiah in Second Kings chapter 20 and Isaiah chapters 38-39,” she said.
“King Hezekiah becomes terminally sick and is told by Isaiah he will not recover. He prays and asks God for mercy and healing and God answers his prayer in the positive, granting him 15 more years of life. During those years Hezekiah in pride makes a foolish display of his possessions, which leads to the ultimate destruction of his kingdom. This may seem like an odd passage in prayer, but to me it is a reminder to be mindful of the things I ask for, knowing that a positive answer to my prayers may not be positive for others and ultimately leading me to pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. God’s will not my own.”
Mindemann is confident that God is one who answers prayer. “In October 2007 when I was pregnant with our second son, my husband lost his job and our insurance. We prayed and watched God provide for all of our needs including a job within three months.
“I believe that God answers all of my prayers. Sometimes with a yes, sometimes a no, sometimes a wait and always for my good and His glory. That’s the short answer. The long and complicated answer would be that I doubt at times, I’ve had desert moments, I have walked through abuse where I wondered where God was, and I don’t have all the answers to the hard and good questions. But this I know, Psalm 27:13-14, ‘I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.’”
This is not Mindemann’s first experience with Moms in Prayer International. “I was involved with Moms in Prayer in our town in Pennsylvania, and so when we moved here in June I looked for a group to join,” she recalled. “Since there wasn’t one I decided to start one to meet other like-minded moms and fathers together to pray for our children and community. There are so many times in my life I have had to (and continue to have to) speak the truth of Scripture to myself. Memorizing scripture and living a life of prayer was instilled in me from a very young age and I’m grateful for parents and teachers who love God and love me and others. Micah 6:8 ‘He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God.’ and Zephaniah 3:17, ‘The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy’ are favorite verses of mine.”
Mindemann says the prayer-oriented ministry began in 1984 “when Fern Nichols’ two children entered middle school and she sought out other moms to gather together and pray for their children weekly.
“This was the beginning of Moms in Touch, now called Moms in Prayer International. As moms began sharing the work of God in their lives and in the lives of their children, more groups began to spring up in the area to pray for children across British Columbia.
“Today, under the leadership of Sally Burke, Moms in Prayer International continues to carry out the vision of every school in the world covered in prayer. Groups are praying for children and schools in every state in the USA and in more than 140 countries, and our ministry booklet has been translated into more than 50 languages.”
According to the organization’s website, www.momsinprayer.org, British Columbia, Canada, resident Fern Nichols had an overwhelming burden “to intercede for her boys, so she asked God to give her another mom who felt the same way — a mom who would be willing to pray with her for their children and school. God heard the cry of her heart and led her to another mom who shared her burden. Others were invited to come, and they began meeting to pray the following week.”
According to the website, “in the summer of 1985, Fern’s family moved from Abbotsford, British Columbia to Poway, Calif. She soon discovered that God had provided her an even greater opportunity for carrying on the work that began in Canada. Once again she prayed fervently that God would raise up moms who were willing to ‘stand in the gap’ for their children. That fall, Fern began the first Moms In Touch/Moms in Prayer group for Poway High School and soon, just as before, God began moving in their community and other groups began to form for schools in that district. This grassroots effort spread quickly as moms prayed specifically for groups to spring up around the state and across the nation.”
For more information about the Moms in Prayer ministry, call 423-543-2711.