User talk:Ok2pray

www.Ok2pray.com was founded by Roy J. Belt in March 2007 to encourage kids of all ages to experience the power of prayer. It began with this story: Nathans' Story

Meet Nathan: an average, middle school student who lives in a small mid-western town with his parents and two sisters. One night, at the dinner table, his dad starts a discussion about the importance of prayer. During which, he tells Nathan that he needs to be thankful and pray for everything, even when you go through your day at school. That’s when Nathan said, “But dad, we can’t pray in school; everybody knows that.” And his sisters agreed, “yeah dad, we’re not aloud to pray in school.” Unfortunately there are many students across the country who are just like Nathan, they really believe that, somehow, it’s against the law to pray in school. It’s not suprising if you listen to what many voices, from both sides of the debate, are saying about prayer in school. All too common phrases like, “They’ve taken prayer out of the public school.” Or, “God has been removed from the class room,” Have left many mis-informed and has led to a distorted view of the facts concerning prayer in the public school. The Beginning In 1962, the Supreme Court passed a law which states, “The act of leading students in prayer was ruled unconstitutional…” (Supreme Court Case Engel v. Vitale, p 422-436 Miller, para. 4) This case came about when a school district in New Hyde Park, New York directed the School District's principal to cause the following prayer to be said aloud by each class in the presence of a teacher at the beginning of each school day: Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country. Thus prayers led by, and sanctioned by, school officials was prohibited. Fortunately, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects all Americans, both believers and nonbelievers by mandating government neutrality between belief and nonbelief. The government, and the administrators, who run our schools, may not lead children in prayer or force them to pray a certain way. However: All children have the right to pray voluntarily before, during, or after school, and non-religious children do not have to pray at all. In other words during free time at school, whether it’s lunch, in between classes, or any other time of the day when you are able to talk to your friends you can also talk to God, and you can talk to your friends about God. Kids all over the country are taking advantage of opportunities to tell their classmates about God’s love. When your friends are talking about there newest CD, I-pod, or Web-Site, you can use that time to tell them the good news of Jesus. Not only will the school allow you to pray during these times but, in case you’re wondering, you can read your Bible in school as well. In fact you’ll find a copy of the Bible in just about every school and public Library across the nation. No one in America has outlawed prayer or the Bible…not even in the public school. Personal prayer never has and never could be outlawed in public schools. The first amendment to the Constitution gives us the right to religious freedom in this country. Students can pray and read the Bible. The law is clear on this point, and we are unable to point to any credible authority on either side of the issue that thinks otherwise. Religious activity in the public schools has been growing in recent years. In the last several decades many religious groups have placed increased interest in student evangelism, and have established thousands of prayer and Bible study clubs in the public schools. Such activity is protected, as it should be, by the Equal Access Amendment, which guarantees students the right to form religious clubs to the same extent they have the right to participate in other extra-curricular activities They can’t make you pray, but they won’t keep you from praying either. This case first came to court in 1962 and twenty-eight years later there was a group of teens who gathered for a retreat. During the retreat they felt burdened to pray for their fellow students. They gathered around the flagpoles of three separate schools to pray. The teens prayed for their friends, the school, and school leaders. God birthed from this the idea that has come to be known as, “See You At the Pole.” On September 12, 1990, 45,000 teenagers gathered at the flagpole in four different states to pray before school started that morning. One-year later one million students from Boston to California gathered at 7:00 a.m. to pray prior to the start of school. This ministry has continued to grow over the years since. Now more than three million students from coast-to-coast and around the world gather to pray one day a year. Students not only meet once a year at the flagpoles of their schools but there are more and more school football teams that will gather for student-led and student-initiated prayer at high school football games. This shows that there is a desire to be able to pray at school. The Congress may have removed the traditional time of prayer that was observed in the classroom but students have found other ways to include prayer and God in their school day. Proving, like Daniel, if you want to pray…nothing can stand in your way.

'''A letter to the parents; It is important when talking to kids about the subject of prayer in school we don't use harsh or militant words towards the school system. We should be careful not to pit the school and the student against one another as to make them enemies.

The school will be a major influence in the life of the student...they spend a great deal of time there. That’s why I felt the need to explain this in a way that shows kids that the school will allow them the right to pray.... Instead of the attitude that says...the school can't keep you from praying.

We can teach our kids to stand up for Christ without breeding rebellion to authority! Sometimes I think that more damage has been done (to confuse and distort the facts) by those who fight for prayer in school than the actual law has done. Not intentionally, of course, but, perhaps, by not keeping the mind of Christ and the spirit of love when confronting this issue.

There are school administrators and parents who will be miss-informed as well.... That’s why we want to educate students to there privilege as Americans, and Christians, to pray.

God Bless Roy Belt''' Check out…
 * Free Exercise Clause and the 14 amendment
 * The Constitution
 * Establishment Clause
 * The Equal Access Amendment —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.53.129.121 (talk) 05:02, 4 June 2009 (UTC)