Suburban moms praying while their kids are learning

It's 9 a.m. on a Friday morning and four moms are huddled in a living room. With Bibles on their laps and coffee mugs on the table, they begin to pray.

"Dear Lord, help my son to make his homework a priority," says one woman. "Yes, Lord, and help my son to remain pure with his girlfriend," adds another.

While their kids are caught up in social studies, math or French classes, their mothers are caught up in prayer for them.

And it's not only this small group of faithful, but as many as 175,000 other mothers across the country and overseas make similar pleadings for their own kids.

Sue Moritz, Diane Palace, Susan Eclov and Susan Byshenk make up the six-year-old Vernon Hills chapter of Moms In Touch International. The California-based Christian organization has a mission to pray for every school in the country. It started with five women and has grown to 15,000 prayer groups.

MITI just began a 25th anniversary celebration that culminates in November 2009. There are 550 groups in Illinois, including 300 in the collar counties.

"As a mom, you sometimes have this fear of sending your 'baby' off to middle school," Moritz said. "A lot of the kids at school don't have a Christian world view. There is a lot of pressure, a lot of negatives. We felt the need to pray, not only for them but the entire school."

A similar sentiment moved MITI founder Fern Nichols to start the first group in 1984. They met in Nichols' home in suburban San Diego.

Nichols' two oldest boys were set to start junior high school. Knowing the power of peer influence and all the bad decisions her kids might make, she was nervous.

Nichols felt compelled to pray for the safety and well-being of her sons. Not so much for their physical safety, but more for their moral health. She asked another mom to join her. Soon others heard about the weekly prayer meetings and joined, too.

Nichols, 63, said she never set out to start an organization, and is amazed by its growth in the last two decades.

"I had no clue it would ever get this big," she said. "Prayer changes things. God changes things."

Moritz says there's never a shortage of issues of concern for the moms. Kids being bullied, conflicts between students and teachers and the ever-present temptations of sex and drugs - they all make the list.

"Even though our kids are being raised in Christian homes, they are susceptible, too," she said.

A seven-year member of a MITI group meeting in Lombard, Heidi Schmuldt says prayer gives her a sense of empowerment. "Even though I can't be with my children physically, God is there with them," said the mother of three. "There isn't anything more important I can do for my kids."

MITI groups pray for a wide range of things beyond the needs of their own children.

"If your name is listed somewhere on the school's Web site, we are praying for you," Moritz said. "We pray for the teachers, administrators, the school board, the counselors and the custodians too. Some of those people might be surprised to know that."

Proselytizing, lobbying or any kind of political activity related to the school is prohibited by MITI bylaws. Members of the group can't pray on school grounds or promote their ministry to school officials in any way.

With that many mothers praying, some might wonder if it's making a difference. Moritz says that's a hard question to answer.

"Sometimes we're never quite sure how or when God will answer our prayers, but we know he does," she said. "We've seen the attitudes of some of our kids and teachers change for the better. And who knows how many bad things haven't happened because of prayer. God is faithful."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related links</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="http://roster.momsintouch.org/GroupLocator/DistrictSearch.aspx?state=4b8ce646-6480-4859-8822-cd4d9c83bbd7">Illinois chapters of Moms In Touch International</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>