With their eyes closed and heads bowed, a group of women earnestly intercedes on behalf of their children to the Lord. They pray for wrestling matches, team work, trials with homework and they give praise for each hurdle that passes. And all over the world, more mothers are meeting in small groups, likewise, obeying the commandment of God in Lamentations 2:19 to "Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord...Lift up your hands toward Him for the lives of your children."

Locally, in Fayetteville, this group of eight to 10 women meet to pray for one hour, once a week for Fayetteville Elementary and Middle schools, where each have a child attending. They are one small group in thousands in the ministry called Moms In Touch International.

The purpose behind Moms In Touch us "to intercede for our children through prayer, and to pray that our schools may be guided by Biblical values and high moral standards."

"Nothing is as comforting to a mother as to hear sisters in Christ praying for her child," said Donna Hendley, mother of two and area contact person for the Fayetteville chapter.

Ideally, the Christian ministry strives to "raise up moms to intercede for every school across the U.S. and around the world."

So far, in Fayette County, there is a group for every school in Peachtree City, but only this one group for Fayetteville as of yet.

"This hour is the center of our week," Hendley said. Often, these mothers have pre-schoolers, work part-time, homeschool or just maintain really busy schedules, but it is in this time that they are still before the Lord and pray, rather than praying "on the go."

The format of the group meetings could almost be characterized as rigid. A strict schedule and order is maintained in order to make the time efficient and effective, said Hendley.

"Sometimes it's incredibly frustrating," she said. "We are being very open and intimate with one another and there are times when we want to pray for things other than children."

The moms are quick to say this is not a time to socialize, fellowship or discuss personal problems. Rather it is strictly a time to pray for their children, peers, the school and teachers, and anything related.

"The structure is not for legalism, but effectiveness," Hendley said.

The women practice conversational prayer, or "praying in one accord." Praying in one accord is explained as "agreeing together as directed by the Holy Spirit."

When a child or issue is presented to pray for, it is thoroughly prayed for by all women until the subject is fully exhausted. This allows a "child to be bathed in prayer" according to Hendley rather than just an honorable mention.

The prayers are kept short and simple. Hendley says they don't judge one another on the eloquence of their prayers. The time is thus ensured to be open and comfortable.

Moms In Touch International follows a pattern of prayer beginning with Praise, Confession, Thanksgiving and lastly, Intercession.

The purpose of praise is to recognize the attributes of God using Scripture. Hendley says she picks an attribute of God for the mothers to find Scriptures detailing and defining that word to use the following week. As when praying for a child, the subject is prayed until exhausted. "It is a time to focus on God, a time of inviting," Hendley said.

The second part of praying consists of confessing based on Isaiah 59:2 that says, "But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you so that He will not hear."

"Your prayers will be hindered without being cleansed," Hendley said.

The next portion of prayer is devoted to giving thanks to God. During this time, answered prayers are remembered.

Lastly, the mothers begin interceding on behalf of the children, teachers, school administrators, curriculum and other students.

Hendley said many of the mothers have never met before gathering to pray and still often don't know one another's children, yet pray consistently for each of them.

She emphasized that while their prayers are to benefit the schoola, they ask nothing of the schools. There is no publicity, prayer request boxes or any ties to the schools other than their children that attend. However, occasionally the group will prepare treats for the teachers and administrators to show their gratitude for teaching caring about their children.

"We are standing in the gap, praying for the needs of others," Hendley said. "God still has His hand on the schools in Fayette County. We need to be the people He wants us to be or He will remove His hand."