Editor:
Many of our hearts were touched as we watched news footages of the horrible destruction that the F5 tornado created in Oklahoma City this week. One that especially touched my heart was of the teacher who stretched her body over six children in a school bathroom to save their lives, and she prayed. She stated, “I know we’re not suppose to pray in school,” but she knew that was their only hope of survival. Prayer — such a controversial matter, but such a powerful demonstration of what happens when the door is open to let God in. Hope came rushing in, in the midst of a most difficult situation. Prayer will always find its way into our public schools even though the government has told us we can’t pray there. I started school in 1965 and I promise you I prayed in school during those years. And thousands of others did the same and still do, not just during a disaster but everyday of their lives.
In 1962 one woman, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, was instrumental in getting prayer and Bible reading banned in our public schools, a decision that we as a nation have been reaping the destruction from for more than 50 years. It has been said that our children can get a Bible and pray in prison after they have found their way into trouble, but they can’t have a Bible and pray in school in their early formative years when it has the potential to turn their lives in a positive direction. How sad is that? Whether you like it or not, on May 20, 2013, a lot of people were praying and God heard their prayers. It’s time this age-old ban is overturned and we put prayer back in our schools permanently.
Elaine Beecher
Cortez
