40 Days of Prayer for Education: Day 12

Day 12:

Conduct yourself with wisdom in your interactions with outsiders (non-believers) make the most of each opportunity [treating it as something precious].

Colossians 4:5 _AMP

Today’s prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus,

Throughout this school year, we will interact with students, parents and coworkers who may not know about life in You.  Every interaction and conversation are important to You. Bless us with Your insight to never forget that.  If at any time anger or disrespect arise in our encounters, may Your Holy Spirit bring Your Word to mind.  We don’t want to react with a matching negative spirit, so please Jesus, let Your Spirit swiftly guide us to conduct ourselves in wisdom. 

Help us, Jesus, to maneuver and overcome everyday obstacles with You by our side.  Let us not overlook our times in the teacher’s lounge, hallways, cafeteria, parking lot, or anywhere we may contact people, as insignificant.  May our smiles be genuine and our inquiries to the well being of those around us sincere. 

Every opportunity to connect is precious.  Help us to live this truth.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

The Lord is with you and you are loved! 

40 Days of Prayer for Education: Day 11

Day 11:

Let’s consider each translation before we pray today.

 

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Ephesians 4:29 _NIV

Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.

Ephesians 4:29 _MSG

Dear Heavenly Father,

You have blessed us with a great gift; the gift of teaching. As a part of that gift, we are surrounded by young impressionable minds. You also, however, surround us with adults who are also impressionable.  Therefore, because You have called us to be “light" and "salt" to those around us, we ask that You conduct our conversations. Even if it means bridling our tongues.  Help us to be mindful of not only what we say to others, but how we say it.  Cleanse our hearts and mouths from cursing, complaining and criticizing.  Instead, may our words encourage, build-up, comfort and speak life to everyone we come in contact with.  By our words, may those around us believe in the confession of our faith and the certainty of Your existence.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

The Lord is with you and you are loved!

40 Days of Prayer for Education - Day 10

Day 10:

Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,

Romans 15:5 NKJV

It is inevitable for those teachers heading back to work in their rooms before school begins to run into another teacher intent on doing the exact same thing; work in their room.  Even if you’ve already started school, it’s inevitable that you will run into another teacher in the copy room intent on doing the exact same thing you came in there to do; make copies.  It’s not that you’ve found your BFF for life, it just that those with the same assignments, goals, and vision often find themselves in the same places like-minded in thoughts of completion and achievement.

The next couple of prayer entries will focus on our relationships with our fellow coworkers.  Our prayer for today will center around being like-minded…according to Jesus.

Today’s prayer:

Dear gracious Father,

We come before You asking that Your Holy Spirit dwell in us richly.  We look to You to give us Your heart, eyes, and ears as we interact with our coworkers this year.  Lord we ask that You reveal and remove hidden prejudices within us. 

We need you to reveal and remove any bitterness within us towards them.  When You walked this earth Jesus, You interacted in patience with those who were against You. 

You were forgiving to those who tried to harm You and generous in your time to help, feed, direct and teach the needy in Your path. Guide us to reach out to those who are struggling in the classroom or in their homes.  Remind us daily to show the love we want to receive from others. 

May the faculty and staff in our schools be like-minded in not only caring for our students but caring for each other across the barriers of grade levels, race, culture, years of teaching experience and age. May You be the tie that binds us all together.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

The Lord is with you and you are loved!    

40 Days of Prayer for Education - Day 9

Day 9:

Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us,

do not bring us up from here.”

Exodus 33:15 _NKJV

Hey! Great, you’re here!  Hurry up and sit down, we’re right at the good part of a great Bible story.  Just to catch you up really quick, the hard-headed Children of Israel just got caught having a wild party around a golden calf that they made while they were supposed to wait for Moses to return from Mt. Sinai. Even after the troublemakers were eliminated, God’s anger still burned against them.  (You’ve ever been that mad?  Even after the punishment has been dealt and the smoke cleared, you were still fuming? Yep. Multiply that by a gazillion and it’s still nowhere near how angry God was.)  

So then God tells Moses, "Go and take those folks you brought with you out of Egypt.  I’ll send help, but I’m not going because I might just kill you before you get to the Promised Land".  Tough words huh?  But considering how mad He was at them,  it seemed fair enough though, right?  God still offered to provide help even though He wouldn't physically be there…

Ok, back to our scripture: “Then he said to Him, ‘If Your Presence does not go with us,

do not bring us up from here’.” Moses wasn’t having any of that!  The angel… yeah it’s a heavenly being and all, but it’s not God! Moses would have rather been left right there than to take one step forward without his Lord.

So, in light of yesterday’s scripture prayer, I’d like us to reread today's scripture and consider what this scripture means for us today. 

We will be presented “good” options this school year and in life itself.  Think about it, there was nothing inherently wrong with the Angel of the Lord taking them. Angels are God’s messengers.  They are God’s warriors. They do His bidding on our behalf. They are from heaven!!  They are good… but they are not God!

If you read the chapter in its entirety, you’ll see that Moses proudly wears his “Child of God” hat and uses that as a reason why God has to go with them. If we are to wear that hat proudly, we’re going to have to make that same declaration. Why? Because there will be “good” opportunities for us, for our students, for our family, for our church, but God may not be in them.  It may have a “heavenly presence”, it’s protected, and it gets accomplished… but God is not in it. 

So, what’s the big deal?  What’s the difference?  To Moses, God’s presence wasn’t just about the Children of Israel arriving safely at their place of destination.  Moses was concerned about preserving the appearance of God’s grace [grace- the unmerited favor of God].  Belonging to God wouldn’t look so special to the nation around them, if His presence wasn’t with them.  He didn’t just want to look good in the hat, he wanted the hat to look good on him!

The same holds true for us today.  The grace of God, which was gifted to us when we received salvation and the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, should set us apart from those around us.  We should be proof that it is advantageous to serve God.  There is a difference between "promoting God" and being identified as His.

Here are a few things I want to clarify before we pray:

1)     God’s presence doesn’t mean you will have a challenge-free year.  In fact, God may use challenges for people to see His power working on your behalf.

2)     God’s presence doesn’t mean you don’t have to do your job! The bible tells us that whatever we work at, we are to work at it as unto the Lord. Yes, we seek God for answers, but we have to follow through with the actual work.

3)     God’s presence doesn’t mean all of your students will pass the state benchmarks, (but I have seen a miracle or two in my day 😊)

4)     Having God’s presence should be evident in your demeanor and in your reputation among your peers, students, and your family.     *God’s presence will reflect His image.

Remember, let's determine to do life with God.

Today’s prayer:

Lord Jesus,

Our prayer today is for You to lead the way. Give us the desire for Your presence. Give us the ability to detect Your presence. May we be able to discern between the “good” choice and the “God” choices in our lives.  Help us to cultivate a climate in our homes, our classrooms and schools, and even in our conversations so that You would want to be there.  We thank You for Your angels that encamp around our schools, on the buses, at the bus stops, on the playground, in the cafeterias, and in each and every classroom. We thank You for Your angelic protection as we travel to and from our schools every day. But Lord Jesus, we want more.  We want Your presence.  We want You to be in the room with us…manifested…breathing…active…in us.  Bless us with Your grace this school year. 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

40 Days of Prayer for Education - Day 8

Day 8:

May He give you what your heart desires

and fulfill your whole purpose.

Psalm 20: 4

Holman Christian Standard Bible

If you look at this verse in other translations, you’ll notice that it echoes part of our prayer scripture from yesterday.  Therefore, I wanted to share this particular version and focus on the underlined part.

So, what is your “whole purpose”? Is it the multiple hats that we wear as parents, spouses, caretakers, ministry workers at church, civic league members, small business owners, and troupe leaders including the multiple hats that we wear as educators?  You and I know how difficult it can be to juggle so many “jobs” without neglecting one or more. Is this what God is promising to fulfill?  Do we even have a “whole purpose” or a lot of little ones?

A woman by the name of Jill Briscoe is quoted for saying this when asked about a balanced life, “A balanced life is not ten boxes of your life all equally full and functional.  It is prayerfully finding out which of those ten boxes God wants to be filled. Then pushing those to the front and all others to the back and finally pouring ourselves into those [chosen by God].”

This can be very difficult because it can mean saying no to things that everyone else is doing.  It could mean that your kids aren’t in sports this year and you aren’t teaching Sunday school.  It could mean that you’re supposed to sign up to teach Sunday school or drop your graduate course.  Who knows?  That’s between you and God. 

But when we read the whole scripture, it can be confusing.  I mean, what if I desire to go back to school?  What if I desire to drop teaching Sunday school?  What if I want to sign up my kids for T-ball?  I can just pray (according to the scripture) that God gives me the desires of my heart…right?

Welllll, truthfully, that scripture doesn’t mean that God gives us “what our heart desires”, but that He places desires for His will in our heart. In doing so, He positions us to be in His will.  What an awesome God we serve!  This is why it is important to seek His face BEFORE we say “yes” or “no” to anything.

Why is this important to know?  If we take it upon ourselves to add or subtract items to our lives because of our desires, it can make a mess of things. We can get stressed out about something we really don’t have to even worry about.

Sidebar:   Do you realize if we asked God how He wants our classroom decorated and arranged, He’ll give us the resources and the plan for everything we need?  We won’t feel the need to compare it with anyone else and will know without a shadow of a doubt that it will be perfect and ready when necessary.  Just had to throw that in there. 

 The great thing about God is that He will give you the strength and time to complete HIS assignments and the opportunities for rest when you drop YOUR self-assigned duties.  This is because in truth, we only have one hat to wear.

When we put this on, we are determined to listen to the voice of our Father in heaven and be obedient to His will because we are His children. He will show us how to shuffle those boxes as His desire becomes our desire and His purpose becomes our purpose!

Today’s prayer:

Father God in heaven,

Thank You for knowing us by name.  Thank You for having good thoughts and plans for us.  Share with us, Father, Your desires for our lives.  No matter which box(es) we have to move to the side or move up front, we trust You to help us move and fill them.  Since, every day has already been written about us in Your books, lead us on those paths and help us to faithfully attend to our destiny for Your namesake.  Father God, when You call our names, may we ready to do Your will above our own with courage and gratitude.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

40 Days of Prayer for Education - Day 7

Day 7:

In trying to find just the right translation for today’s scripture, I realized that I couldn’t decide on just one! Each translation of Proverbs 16: 3 explores a different viewpoint of the focus and effects of our commitment. 

Take some time and meditate on what each translation means to you.    Join in with me as we pray declarations and petitions from each verse for ourselves and for others.

Our Father God in heaven,

Your word says…

Commit your works to the Lord,

And your thoughts will be established.

New King James Version

so we commit ourselves to educate and nurture the students You have assigned to us.  Thank You for securing our thoughts in advance for our assignment.

Commit your actions to the Lord,

and your plans will succeed.

 New Living Translation

 We commit to treat others, adult or children with respect and love as a show of gratitude of what You continue to do for us day after day.  Thank You in advance for giving us success in being integral and full of Your virtues.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do,

and He will establish your plans.

New International Version

In the things we may label as major like planning, teaching lessons, evaluating and creating, to the little everyday things we don’t even give a second thought to like tying a shoe, giving a hug, buying food, fixing hair, giving pep talks and listening…whatever we do, we commit to You Jesus and pray that You are pleased with what You see. 

Commit your activities to the Lord,

and your plans will be achieved.

Holman Christian Standard Bible

All of our daily activities we commit to You.  Thank You for helping us to achieve them all.

Commit your works to the Lord [submit and trust them to Him],

And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance].

Amplified Version

Father God, we submit our plans to You and trust You to guide us through the day.  Thank You for sharing Your will with us when we read Your word and listen for Your voice during our times of prayer and meditation.  Thank You for sharing Your will with us when we are driving to work, sitting behind our desk, standing in front of our students, and heading back to our homes in the afternoon.  Thank You for the guidance of Your Holy Spirit. Thank You for blessing us with success this school year.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

The Lord is with you and you are loved!