To be clear, this doesn’t mean there should be prayer in public schools (although there used to be, and there’s nothing that stops private prayers from happening…especially before tests).  Actually, if the local community wants prayer to be present “in” the public school, it should be allowed…but that’s another topic for another article.

Regardless of prayer being permitted or not permitted in the public school, the public school and its students should be prayed for by those who pray in the community.  In the words of Pastor Robert Schuller, “Prayer is the power that pulls all things together successfully.”  That’s a very important phrase to remember.  Not only is it about prayer, but it’s at the heart of systems thinking.

While knowledge is important, knowing how to function within a society and to care for that society as well as the less fortunate is also important.  All our actions need to be rooted in a higher power and a higher purpose, rather than to just learn and do for ourselves.  Therefore, it’s not just a higher purpose, but a helpful purpose to those around us.  The “horizontal” relationship needs to be fostered by us if we expect the “vertical” one to be a strong one.

We’re encouraged to pray for those in power, no matter what faith tradition we believe and practice.  In a similar way, we need to pray for those in our schools – administrators, teachers, and students.  They’re engaged in the practice of learning, and learning creates knowledge.  The system then comes full circle, because knowledge is power.