‘Moms in Prayer’: Bringing children and schools before God

Schools are the place where children spend most hours of the day. It is in there where both great challenges and opportunities appear.

Thousands of mothers pray for their children in Europe, linked up through the network Moms in Prayer.

In Switzerland, as many as 1,500 small groups of mothers meet on a weekly basis to pray. They just celebrated the 25th anniversary earlier this year.

Cornelia Amstutz, coordinator of Moms in Prayer in the country, told Evangelical Focus details about how they work.

Cornelia Amstutz, coordinator of Moms in Prayer in Switzerland.

Question. Why does Moms in Prayer exist?

Answer. We encourage mothers around the world to come together, to bring our children and their schools before God in prayer. Our vision is that every school in Switzerland, Europe and anywhere else in the world, has a prayer group behind it.

Q. How do you organise this network during the year?

A. Whenever it is possible, mothers meet once a week as a group to pray for the children and their schools. On a regional level, bigger gatherings are organised to encourage and strengthen mothers in their task of praying, and to try to win over new mothers to pray.

Q. From your personal experience sharing with other Christian mothers, what are the most prayed for issues?

A. We pray for everything that has to do with children, family and school. What specific topic is most prayed for is difficult to say, but a big and permanent desire we have is to see children getting to know Jesus, and follow him, making a difference for Him despite the challenges, obstacles and temptations in their way.

Q. Compared to 30 or 40 years ago, what challenges are different for children and youth today?

A. I think today’s digitalisation, the social media and the collapse of the traditional family would be some of the biggest challenges with which our children are confronted now.

Q. How does praying for your children change the way you relate to them?

A. It truly happens, actually, that through prayer for my children I am transformed in the first place. I start looking at them with the eyes of God. I learn to leave my worries with God and trust Him. Through this I become more relaxed, more patient and more sympathetic in my relationship with my children. Through prayer my love for them grows.

Small groups are the essence of MIP. / Moms in Prayer Switzerland

Q. How can the network of Moms in Prayer help other people in churches to open the eyes to the importance of intercessory prayer?

A. We have experienced how powerful prayer is and the effects it has, and this is exciting. We will be able to share this vision of urgency and the importance of prayer as we share our passion and encouraging experiences with others. We are really looking forward to see even more mothers experiencing the blessing of praying together, taking up this important task and joining us.

Q. Your husband is a head teacher. What challenges are there in Swiss schools and the whole education system?

A. The main challenges have to do with the decomposition of values, and that the education of children is increasingly left in the hands of schools alone. But it is in these social changes that we see an appeal to prayer. It is not in our hands to stop this trend, but through prayer we have the possibility to be a positive influence in the sphere of schools and Education. We are convinced that the prayer with faith in God has much power (James 5:16).

Learn more about Moms in Prayer here.