See You at the Pole

So this past Wednesday was See You at the Pole, a national event in which students gather at their local flag pole at their school or campus to pray for everything from their own storms to the sufferings that occur across the world.

At my school we gathered at 7 am, standing in the morning dew. When I arrived early I was surprised to see that there were so many adults(mothers of students at the school, teachers, and local church goers) sitting on the benches, ready to pray with us. After praise and an opening prayer as a large group, the other leaders and I divided up into small prayer groups.

In my group were two of my classmates, an underclassman, a young girl(maybe 9 or so) , her older sister, and a woman from a local church. As we parted from the large group and walked toward a set of benches a few yards away, the woman, Daisy, touched my shoulder and asked if she should go get her pocketbook before we started praying. She had left it next to the boxes of munchkins one of the leaders had brought to share. Considering the short distance between the benches and the vast groups of already praying small groups which surrounded the benches, I replied, "Sure you can, but it'd probably be okay if you left it too. I don't think anyone from our club would take it." We went on and prayed until 7:40.

As we returned to the large group, Daisy went to get her pocketbook. Except well, it kind of wasn't there. When she started looking for it and announced it missing, I was horrified. Horrified because I had been the one who had convinced her to leave it. Horrified at the possibility that someone had taken it in the midst of honest prayers and dedicated students. I hoped of course, that someone had taken it by accident.

The bell rang, and everyone had to go inside. The bag was no where to be found, and Daisy's phone and car keys were in the bag. I was at a loss at what to do, so quickly I prayed that God would return the bag to this poor woman who had come to pray for our school and our nation.

Now okay, later on Daisy emailed and told us that someone had found her bag in their car. She believes that someone (perhaps a student) had picked up the bag and placed it in the car, in knowledge that the owner of the car also had the same bag that Daisy did.

I realize that this whole story was a small incident and not particularly life-changing or deeply moving, but God works small miracles of faith for us every day. In a way I guess God answered our prayers to find Daisy's bag. At its heart, See You at the Pole is about prayer. Praying for our schools. Praying for our nation. Praying for those who are persecuted for their faith...the list goes on and on. God will answer honest prayers. They may not be answered in the way you want, or in the time frame you want them to be answered in. But He is listening for your cries.

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18)