Overcoming the Don Quixote Spirit in Education

Overcoming the Don Quixote Spirit in Education

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

For over 50 years we have been titling at the windmill of prayer in schools.  The real battle began long before prayer in schools was ruled unconstitutional.  In reality, the banning of prayer in our schools was the inevitable result of what has been taking place from the beginning—from  the fall of man. 

The battle for the education of our children must be fought on two fronts.  First, we must recognize that the home is the place where values and love of learning must first be fostered.  The second front is becoming creative in praying for and praying in our schools. 

A difficult fact is that many Christians had already removed prayer from their homes before it was removed from their schools.  If we are not praying with our children in our homes, what right to we have to expect prayer in our schools?

Remembering that the freedom of religion is the freedom to practice any and all religions on an equal basis, we should be declaring, “Thank you, Lord, that we no longer have organized prayer in our schools.  Thank You, Lord, for protecting our children from adverse forms of spirituality.”  

God calls on families to fulfill the important role of instilling biblical values in children.    "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.  And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7 NKJV).

To win the battle for our children’s biblical mindset, the foundation must be laid in the home and in the church.  Our children must know who they are in Jesus Christ.

Each child should be able to declare with conviction:

▪ I know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14)

▪ I know that my life has meaning and purpose. (Jeremiah 29:11) 

▪ I know that God desires the best for me.  (John10:10). 

▪ I know that before the foundation of the world, God chose that His only begotten Son would go to the cross for me.  (Revelation 13:8)

▪ Because God is my Creator, I have hope.

We want our children to be creative, inventive, skilled and ready to impact every facet of society with the power, deliverance and peace of the Kingdom of God.  That type of mindset  should be instilled before a child enters the public school system.

Throughout the generations, we have cursed learning and our schools, our teachers and our students.  We have, with our words, created a negative spiritual atmosphere over our educational system and, therefore, over our future. Today we are reaping the harvest of that cursing. 

We begin the process of recapturing our educational system by blessing the good that has existed and continues to exist.  Christians must step into the calling that God has placed over families to diligently teach our children to love God and to walk in His ways.   We must just as diligently encourage Christian students, teachers and other staff to pray silently if necessary and openly when possible in and for their schools.  We all must pray for the safety and protection of our schools, staffs and students.  We must pray for and demonstrate a love of learning and encourage our children to participate in leadership roles.  

As Christians, our greatest witness is as representatives of the authority and gifting that the Lord has placed within each of us.  We are in more than a political or cultural battle; we are in a spiritual one. We must demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.  That fruit will then produce fruit and impact our culture for the Kingdom of God.