Can you feel His presence? Can you feel the chills from the Holy Spirit surrounding you? Schools across the United States are not able to feel His presence, nor do they get to draw near to Him in their schools while away from church and religious organizations. Taking prayer and God out of school is not the solution for today’s teens.

Prayer and God can play a big role in a teenager’s life. Being a teenager is a path of decisions, and without God by their sides, it makes it harder to make those tough decisions. Teens struggle with addictions, dating life, self-worth and love, friends, school, and having a strong relationship with their parents. Teenagers tend to dislike opening up to their parents depending on their relationship with them, but if God and prayer was present in our schools, than teenagers might not see as much hatred throughout their school day and be more appreciative toward their parents. The Bible says that He can restore all relationships, with that being said, He can help you strengthen your relationships at home.

Self-worth and love is a common thing seen in today’s teens. High school is a rough place to be when struggling with self-worth and love. High school is filled with bullies and people who don’t care about others feelings. Bullies may not ever know how to love someone; that is, if they have never experienced God’s love beforehand. God’s love is powerful; it can change your outlook on life and the people around you. Imagine God’s love flowing through schools, not only the students would be more loving, but also the teachers and other staff. Teenagers struggle with their appearance when dealing with self-love. Song of Songs 4:7 says, “You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way.” God sent His one and only Son to die for us; even though, we are not perfect. He sacrificed His Son for the love that He has for us, so that we may have an everlasting life.

How you portray yourself in school can show where you’re at in your walk with God. Prayer and God might not be allowed in our schools, but if each student was to be strong and bold in their faith, then a revival might take place in schools across the United States. Some schools take part in their own religious organizations, but it has to be held outside of school hours and school property. FCA and Apologetix at Wayne City are not allowed to use school vehicles for events. They may have their events in a school gym or facility, but only outside of school hours. FCA is held at the Wayne City Baptist Church due to not being allowed to have it on school property. It is not a long walk, but I feel, if it were allowed to be in the school, more students would be motivated to go. Teenagers can be quite lazy at times. Besides the fact of teenagers being lazy, they would get to experience what God’s word is all about.

Recently, my youth group went to a retreat in Branson, Missouri. This retreat focused on addictions and relationships. I got to witness teenagers giving testimonies on how God has flipped their life around, whether it was an addiction of some sort or an unhealthy relationship that left them broken. Some of the teenagers had been addicted to drugs for years, but by the power of God they had been set free and began living all for Him. Others let God take control of their unhealthy relationships and trusted in Him. With some kids not being brought up in church, school might be the only place they could see how God can change lives, if it was allowed in schools.This youth retreat was filled with the Holy Spirit and the feeling that it gives you is amazing. If we could spread that feeling in our schools, there’s no telling what would happen. Lives would be changed and there would be an abundance of happiness pouring out of our school. This would result in love and joy present throughout our hallways, on students, and teachers faces.

“We have to get God back in our schools! We have a real problem in our public schools, and it’s affecting everyone. Even people who don’t normally pray are now praying in the wake of all of the recent events that have taken place in schools. Not to mention all the immoral things kids and parents are involved in now. When do we say enough is enough? Since God and prayer has been removed from schools in 1962, we’ve seen a rise in teenage pregnancies, unmarried mothers, the divorce rate has risen, violent crimes continue to skyrocket, illegal drugs are everywhere and easily accessible, abortions, single parent homes, and even no parents in the home. There is also a genuine lack of respect in relation to students and adults; and that goes both ways. Some people will say that all of this has nothing to do with God and prayer being removed from schools. I disagree. By pushing God out of the schools, some children are never given the opportunity to experience the love of a Heavenly Father and that is another tragedy. I think inviting God and prayer back into the schools can help prevent senseless tragedies and will also instill other moral values in our students and staff that will make our schools a better place.”-Rick Hays, Orchardville Youth Pastor

People argue that teachers are not responsible for monitoring religion in public schools. Public schools are saying that prayer is strictly for home and church. Parents that do not believe in prayer in schools also complain of their child’s education being distracted by prayer and God around them, if it were allowed.

Bringing God back into our schools can decrease temptations. When temptations arise God will be there to guide you through them, instead of trying to fight through them alone. “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭10:13‬