Many years ago, when I was praying about sending my son off to a huge public high school the verse that spoke to me was from John 17:15 where Jesus is praying for His disciples. “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”

It’s a terrifying prospect to send your firstborn out into the world. We worked so hard to protect our kids from the things that could derail their faith and yet here we were contemplating throwing our son to the wolves. But Jesus goes on to say, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by your truth, Your word is truth.”

These words brought peace to my anxious heart.

God used these verses in a profound way to speak to me about sending my kids out into the world to face battles they hadn’t yet experienced. Here are the takeaways:

1. Jesus prayed! What an example to us. He faithfully interceded for his disciples. There is such power in our prayers for our children!
2. Jesus didn’t ask God to take believers out of the world, He asked God to use them. As much as we want to protect our children, they are ultimately called to be salt and light in a dark world.
3. He prayed for God to protect them from the evil one. Oh, how I prayed (and still pray) this for my kids.
4. He asked God to sanctify or make them holy by the truth of His word.

Do I share this with you moms to advocate sending your children to the public schools today? Absolutely not.  Many of our schools are brimming with problems and the enemy is working overtime to destroy our children and families.

However, if the Lord is leading you in this way then He has a plan and you must pray. Pray scripturally, pray continually with other moms (momsinprayer.org), and pray in every situation. We are in a battle and although we’d like to hide them under a fluffy blanket at home, our kids will eventually go into the world to face the forces of evil.

Like Jesus’ prayers for his disciples, our prayers will gird them up in truth, use them as vessels of light, and protect them from the enemy’s schemes.