My son was 5 when I first heard about Moms in Prayer. I was new to Ithaca, and a friend from BG, Taryn Deets, whose daughter was in my son’s 1st-grade class, got me started with MIP. We were both crazy busy, but decided to meet weekly to pray knowing the ministry’s goal was important to us: to impact children and schools worldwide for Christ by gathering mothers to pray.
Twelve years later, that little boy has started college. My heart overflows to see how present Jesus has become in his thoughts, his choices, and his identity.
At MIP meetings, we pray together for a full 60 minutes, using a prayer sheet outlining 4 Steps of Prayer, derived from and saturated in Scripture.
The first two steps are praise (10 min) and confession (3 min). Praise gets my mind off me and moves my attention to the triune God whose majesty, faithfulness, omniscience—etc!—are most worth pondering. Confession is done silently, just me and Him whom I’ve just praised, obeying and trusting 1 John 1:9.
After spending 7 more minutes in thanksgiving (step 3), we split into pairs for the first 25 min of intercession (step 4) to pray for our children in-depth. We pray the scripture on the prayer sheet over my child, ‘bathing’ him in the Word, conversationally pray specific requests for him, then repeat the process over her child.
The larger group reconvenes to pray together (15 min) for selected teachers and administrators by name and lift up school/district concerns, rounding out the hour with a reminder that ‘what is prayed in the group stays in the group’.
I love that Moms in Prayer is scriptural, confidential, and efficient, existing to facilitate praying. Moms are busy! Leading a group is as simple as having a Bible, a buddy, and a prayer sheet! The goal of Moms in Prayer is powerful and the tools are plentiful. In Moms in Prayer, we meet with God. It is a community of trust, a ministry of hope, and is often the most refreshing and reorienting hour of my week.