“ It’s rising up all around,
it’s the anthem of the Lord’s renown! ”

As I prepared to teach a session this July on Children in Prayer, a line from Chris Tomlin’s song, “Holy is the Lord”, kept playing over and over in my spirit.

“It’s rising up, all around.”

All over the earth the children are rising up like a mighty
tidal wave to take their place as world-shapers leading in prayer and intercession.

“It’s the anthem of the Lord’s renown.”

Children are the Lord’s renown; famous ones because, in His eyes, their cries to Him are very precious.

2 students from Mel Nathan Prep praying during their lunch hour for Jamaica.

In 1992 I had the God-ordained privilege of meeting Esther and my life has never been the same. I marveled then, and still do now, at the idea of children interceding and I never grow tired of stories of children in prayer. Deep in my spirit has been a cry that God would not leave Jamaica out as He sovereignly moves in the lives and in the hearts of children all across the world.
I have been the ENI/CGPM Representative for Jamaica and the Caribbean since 1998. As the ENI/CGPM Rep, I use and promote ENI’S wonderful, anointed PRAYERTOOLS in all our meetings and outreaches – training and equipping the children for global intercession. I also teach them the various strategies for prayer shared in Esther’s book, Let the Children Pray. Praying for, “…children like themselves…” around the world they are World Shapers who are shifting the destiny of nations. Their prayers are not only fervent and effectual but they have fun, too – praying on the “PRAYGROUND!”

I have been a missionary in Jamaica since 1985 and have now lived longer in Jamaica than in my home country of the US. I have been serving with the National Intercessory Prayer Network of Jamaica full-time since 2012 as their Children in Prayer Coordinator. Along with Devon and Maria Harbajan we are pioneering Children in Prayer in Jamaica. The idea of children as full-fledged members of the Kingdom of God is still a relatively new idea for many here. Thankfully that mindset is quickly changing.

For me, serving as a Children in Prayer Coordinator means leading our weekly Boot Camp meetings for children, planning and leading our annual intergenerational prayer rally, “let the children cry HOSANNA!”, leading 2 prayer clubs in 2 different Kingston schools, leading monthly visits to 2 children’s homes and organizing teacher training for Sunday school teachers.

Schools in Jamaica are still open to weekly and sometimes daily devotions. God is still welcomed in the public school system. At an inner-city school, Mel Nathan Preparatory, I meet during the second half of the children’s lunch break to lead their prayer club. During the Christmas Term, September – December 2014, we had weekly devotions with the entire school that were based on prayer. We have seen tremendous growth numerically and spiritually in this group.

This past June the Network honored 9 students who started this prayer club at Mel Nathan Prep. In grade 4 these students wanted to start a prayer club so they went to Rev. Hinds, the Chairman of the Board at the school with their request. It is a rare and precious thing to see children initiating prayer in their schools, but I believe we are going to see more and more of this.

Some of the 9 founding members of the prayer club at Mel Nathan Prep with Kathryn Snider and Rev. Sylvan Hinds being honored at their annual prize giving ceremony June 2015.

At another school, Liberty Academy, the children meet for prayer during their scheduled club time on a Friday afternoon. When the ebola virus threatened the world last September, October and November these young prayer warriors fervently prayed that God would stop the ebola virus. I’m convinced that we don’t hear of the ebola threat today as we did during these months because God heard the cries from our Children in Prayer. YES! One of the members of this prayer club was asked to pray for the Prime Minister when she visited Liberty for Girl’s Day.

Happy children in prayer. The girls at Mel Nathan who started the prayer club.

Our annual intergenerational prayer rallies led by children, “let the children cry HOSANNA!”, are designed to bring together children from many different churches to pray and to train them to excel in leadership. This year marked our 3rd intergenerational prayer rally in Kingston and our 1st intergenerational prayer rally in Montego Bay. In Montego Bay we partnered with YWAM.

We ask 4 – 6 children and youth to prepare short messages and instruct them to hear from God as to what they are to say and how they are to pray. In Kingston we had 5 young people from 5 different churches share. Each of their messages were relevant, timely and deep. One young man said God told him to speak on kindness. The youngest minister, an 8 year old girl, spoke about the recent tragedies that were affecting Jamaican children. The last speaker spoke powerfully from Jeremiah 1:10.

13 year old Jewayne encouraging us to seek the Lord with all our hearts. “let the children cry HOSANNA!” Kingston May 2015

I still marvel at the unity that comes so naturally amongst the churches when our children lead. How many church events are there where there is such a broad representation of the body?

God’s mighty hand is without a doubt on our children all across the earth. “It is rising up all around.” Don’t let God leave your country, or any country, out of His great plan in this day and hour. Make yourself available to further this move of God.

One of our favorite “uncles”, Uncle (Pastor) Jamin leading the children at a prayer station with the anointed-fun-to-pray-with globalls. “let the children cry HOSANNA!” Kingston May 2015

Another prayer station focusing on the racial unrest in the USA. “let the children cry HOSANNA!” Kingston 2015

Intergenerational worship in Montego Bay YWAM base. “let the children cry HOSANNA!” Montego Bay May 2015