Praying For Your Bus Kids

Dick Spieth, One Of Our First Bus Directors, With One Of His Bus Kids

November 2010 is “Prayer Month” at LABC. As a result, Bus Director Bob Morrissey dealt with the topic of prayer in the bus meeting. It was one of the most helpful, practical lessons I have ever heard. I trust Bro. Bob’s thoughts will be a help to you, as well.

 

How I (as bus director) pray for my bus workers and bus kids:

First and foremost I pray for the bus

        captains every day.

I pray for the other bus workers

        (besides captain) at least once during

        the week.

I keep a list of my riders to pray over.

I start praying on Friday.

        – I ask the Lord to prepare hearts.

        – I then follow up with the same prayer

           on Saturday, Sunday & Monday.

        – I pray for each of the regular stops.

           (This is my mental prayer list. I find better 

           focus by praying from my memory by 

           thinking about each of my regular stops, 

           than by praying down a list.)

        – I pray for mom, dad, grandparents, all the

           names I know at each stop.

Sometimes I have tears when praying, but most of the time my prayer time is just a

          steady habit.

I am not looking for a chilling experience in prayer, I am looking for results.

I like it when I feel good in prayer but like it even better when I see the results on

          Sunday morning.

 

Some things I ask the Lord to do before I mention people:

I ask God to tear down the strong holds of drugs, booze, anger, lust, hatred,

          false teaching, laziness, and for baptism permission.

I ask God to soften the hearts of the parents as well as the kids.

 

Answers to prayer with bus kids:

Once in awhile, the answers to prayer make it very evident that the Lord has worked.

         But most of the time answers come very quietly and little by little.

At times I ask the Lord to show me if the answer was directly related to my prayer.

Sometimes I have received answers to prayer by just praying for an address.

        (I didn’t even have names; just the street and house number.)

 

Praying for bus kids while on the bus:

I sometimes bring a bus rider to the front of the bus on the way to church or on the

          way home and I publicly pray for them or for their relative in need.

        – I always ask the bus rider ahead of time if this would be OK, if they say, “no,”

           then I don’t do it.

        – I’ve never had a rider tell me “no”.

 

Do I have regular bus riders on my bus route for which no one has prayed?

Chances are if I am not praying for my bus riders, nobody is.

Everybody needs somebody to mention their name in prayer.

 

What about kids that have moved off my route or are in my “dead” file or who just won’t come back or those I am trying to get on the bus for the first time?

I have a few of these names that I mention in prayer with my regular bus riders.

If they are people that I am still trying to get on the bus for the first time,

          then I pray for them just as much as I pray for the regular riders.

        – I am burdened for them because they have not had a chance to hear the good news.