A few weeks ago my friend Pastor Tom Dillingham taught a message that I just couldn’t resist ripping off and adapting as my own.  We have been teaching on prayer all month and Tom’s original message was compared “Casting our cares on the Lord” and fishing.  At the end of his message he illustrated the concept by pulling out a index card file,  he called it the “God Box.”  He asked kids for some ideas of what we might ask God and put into the God Box.  As he shared God gave me an idea.

For the last couple weeks since then I have been using my adapted version of this message.  After the fishing talk, I directly applied the “God Box” concept to their lives.  I gave each child an index card and explained that they were not to write their names, “only write the deepest prayer need or concern in your life”.  I honestly didn’t expect what I got. 

Children wrote things that just grabbed my heart.  I shared this with one of the Pastors of the church I attend.  He runs the men’s prayer group that meets every Wednesday morning at 6 AM.  He insisted that if I would get these needs to him they will pray over them weekly.  I feel the need to share some of these with you all and ask you to pray over them.  Before I share these needs and concerns I must warn you they are pretty potent.  I still have three of schools I personally work with to go yet.  I have 300 cards so far.

 5—asked God to help them be closer to Him.

 2—Asked for forgiveness.

 2--children want help to stop lying.

 3—were concerned about the stress level of their parents.

 5—that parents or grandparents would stop smoking.

 45—some family member needs God to heal them included in that are these three: “My Dad is in the hospital.  My teacher’s daughter has cancer”;  “My cousin has cancer”; My aunt has cancer.  She has already lost her hair”.

 3—Have experienced the death of a family member including this one: “My dad died last year and my mom doesn’t talk much anymore”.

 1—Child wrote, “I barely see my Dad

 17—Parents are out of work and one “mom’s shop isn’t making money”.

 2—For siblings to come home safely from the war.

 DON’T CHECK OUT YET !!!  THESE NEXT ONES ARE ISSUES THAT ROCK THE HEART OF KIDS:

 “My Dad is on drugs”.

 10—Made comments such as, “I don’t want my Mom or Dad to die”.  Of those the one that shocked me was the one that said “I don’t want to die”

 “We are going to be adopted by a family because Mom & Dad are making bad choices”.

 “Help my Mom & Dad so they don’t get a divorce”. 

 26 variations of, “Mom & Dad are fighting, God, make them stop”.

 “My family is going crazy”

 “Pray for my Mom & Dad to finally get enough money for child support.  I don’t want them to go to jail again”.

Friends, if those don’t make you furious as the Devil, you must not be saved.  Please help KFCUSA to reach as many kids and families as we can.  These kinds of statements from kids are just too much.  This is just a small representation of the whole.  Pray, give, volunteer, just ACT!