John Calvin once said, “Doubtful prayer is no prayer at all.” In the CEF ministry in the Caribbean we have seen God move mightily, as a direct result of confident and expectant prayer. In the Caribbean context, we often see very visible attacks of the enemy. As all of us serve as spiritual leaders in CEF we must fight the spiritual battles with spiritual weapons. For example, we hear loud noises suddenly during the Bible lesson, distracting the children. On one occasion, a herd of goats entered the church during Good News Club! Though ultimately a humorous event afterwards, it was an attempt to get the children to not focus on the Gospel going forth.
In my experience in the CEF Caribbean region, the most successful ministries have the strongest prayer ministries. I have seen children come together for the CEF World Day of Prayer in places like the Bahamas; hundreds of children praying that their nation and other nations would know Jesus. I have seen National Boards go on prayer walks together, praying that God would raise up CEF staff for their countries. And God has answered those prayers!
Prayer has opened the doors of the public school system in the Caribbean, and schools are seeing the results of faithful, believing prayer. A couple of months ago I was serving alongside the CEF workers in the Cayman Islands and a school principal told us: “Since Good News Club, there are children walking down the school yard singing GNC™ songs and detention visits have gone down in my school. There is a new spirit among the children at my school.”
As you have your Year of Prayer, on behalf of the Caribbean CEF area and workers, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your prayers for the ministry to children. Like Aaron and Hur (Exodus 17:11), your prayers directly lift our Caribbean CEF team up to see God’s glory advance in the islands!
This article first appeared in the Summer 2019 National Newsletter.