On February 15, 2020, She Loves Out Loud prayer movement will be hosted by churches and small groups nationwide. It is a time for women to pray in unity for the healing of hearts, for the future of children and for America. Started by Diane Strack, She Loves Out Loud will host Christian leaders at strategic locations across the U.S. For more information, visit SheLovesOutLoud.org.

The Stream is profiling some of the women — women like you and me — who will be taking part in what is destined to be a powerful and profound day.

“I was one of those kids who won all the Bible memory contests,” Carol Kent told The Stream. “I knew all of the right, biblical answers. But suddenly, in the middle of my crisis, nothing was making sense.”

During the first moments after Carol’s son killed his wife’s ex-husband, Carol reached out to fellow Christians for prayer. “In those early days, when you’re just saying ‘breathe, do the next thing,’ the family of God came around us with prayer. And they called themselves our stretcher-bearers — people who carried us when we could not carry ourselves.” It was then that Carol came to grips with the fact that when we don’t know how to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf. “That became a very precious scripture to me because sometimes I couldn’t even verbalize the prayer I would have for my child.”

Answered Prayers

As she, her husband and their friends prayed for finances, protection and wisdom, Carol began to see answered prayers. For example, they didn’t know how they would pay for their son’s defense. “It was like buying another house,” Carol recalls. “Every month we had just enough. Just barely enough. And that happened again and again and again. And I saw God answer that prayer.”

Not every prayer is answered in the way people think they’ll be answered. “Sometimes we pray in a well-meaning way for the needs of our child,” she explains. “We pray for protection, we pray for wisdom. We pray for purity, we pray that they will be strong and courageous. We pray that they will have a love and a desire for God’s Word. … But sometimes God answers prayer in a totally different way than what we anticipated.”

It may seem like God is not listening, but we should remember that God sees the end from the beginning. “He sees that entire stream of time, from where we are now to where we’re going to when we finally meet with Him in eternity. And He knows how He can best be glorified and how his kingdom message can best be put forth in a progressive and meaningful way that will speak to the generation in which we live today and in the sphere of influence that we have today.”

She said that’s a lesson that was a long time in coming for her, but one she wants women who attend She Loves Out Loud to get.

She Loves Out Loud

Carol will join She Loves Out Loud by leading the prayer for our nation’s children — not just for those incarcerated but those with any struggle. She shared Elisabeth Elliot’s perspective of prayer as it has been very meaningful to her. “She says, ‘Fear arises when we imagine that everything depends on us.'” Carol continues:

And I want to say faith arises when we know that we can depend on God and ask for His help through prayer. Everything changes and it starts with our attitude and then we see our actions change and then we find out that we can change our communities, our churches and we can go beyond that as we see the world change for God’s glory through the power of prayer.

She wants to encourage She Loves Out Loud moms to always pray that their children would know how very much they are loved, that they come to know Jesus at a very early age and have a desire to know God’s Word. “And I also want to emphasize that we need to build legacy into our families when it comes to a legacy of prayer.”

Before her parents passed away they had a family reunion. Carol’s mom and dad shared a card with a blessing on it for each of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Carol says her parents left an incredible legacy of prayer. “And I hope everyone who comes to She Loves Out Loud will catch the vision for passing on the lasting legacy of prayer to their children and their grandchildren.”

Nancy Flory is an associate editor at The Stream. You can follow her @NancyFlory3, and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.