Forty Days of Prayer for Education: Day 14

Section 2: Refocus and Refresh

Join with us today and pray our prepared prayer on page 28 from the FORTY DAYS OF PRAYER FOR EDUCATION free eBook or pray independently from our focus scripture, Philippians 4:19 NIV and enjoy the accompanying song entitled, "More Than Anything" by Lamar Campbell .

As you listen and sing along with today's song, declare from your heart your love for Jesus.  It is He who has made the undeserved gift of salvation possible.  It is He who provides for our daily blessings. Let's thank Him by simply saying, "I love you Jesus".

YOUR BLESSINGS

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:19 NIV 

Praise the Lord, through whom all blessings flow, 

We come before You today thanking You with the fullness of our gratitude for Your blessings in our lives. Through the reading of Your word and the grace, mercy and miracles You have gifted to us, we are in awe of You. We marvel at Your mighty deeds and fear Your holy name. 

Thank You for choosing us according to Your foreknowledge through the sanctifying work of the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ. Because of this, we find great delight in You. 

You are making our children and students mighty in this land. 

You are blessing us with unexpected raises, bonuses and incentives, for wealth and riches are in our homes and You are gracious, compassionate and righteous towards us. 

You, Lord, are aware how Your educators lend freely and give of their own to provide for their students. Your good, will come to us. 

You have not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. So we will not fear when bad news arrives, but will trust in You with all of our heart because You have already won the victory for us. 

As You continue to bless us, our blessings will not only benefit those children directly around us, but we will scatter the seed of Your blessings in our lives to children living abroad through the missionaries who take Your word throughout this world. 

You are blessing us to be a blessing. Thank You for Your enduring righteousness and favor. 

In Jesus’ name, 

-Amen

Forty Days of Prayer for Education: Day 13

Section 2: Refocus and Refresh

Join with us today and pray our prepared prayer on page 25 from the FORTY DAYS OF PRAYER FOR EDUCATION free eBook or pray independently from our focus scripture, Matthew 25: 34-36, 40 NIV and enjoy the accompanying song entitled, "Send Me" by Charles Billingsley, Scott Krippayne and Shannon Wexelberg.

Afterwards, ask God to focus your attention on a specific need of others around you today and pray for the strength, courage and provision to help. 

DO THIS FOR THE LEAST OF THESE

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 

-Matthew 25: 34-36, 40 

Our Father who dwells in heaven, 

Great is Your name, Your faithfulness and Your tender mercies towards Your people. You are our Creator and You, in Your omnipotence, are well aware of the lives of every person on this earth. You know where the obvious pockets of poverty are, and You know where poverty lies behind mounds of materials items purchased by credit. You are aware where the cold and hungry slept last night as well as those who are cold in spirit or hungry for Your presence. 

Jesus, You told us that when we feed the hungry, quench the thirst of the thirsty, tend to a stranger, clothe those in need of clothing, take care of the sick, and visit the imprisoned, we in essence are doing it for You. You called those we are called to care for, "the least of these". 

Lord, help us to realize that we are all in need of love and care from our fellow man. Increase the discernment of Your educators today to see what is needed physically or spiritually from those around us. We may see the obvious physical need, but we need Your help in addressing the spiritual famine, thirst, nakedness and imprisonment that our students and coworkers may be going through. 

Bless us with the resources, strength, willingness, and time to do this work. Anoint us anew with a heart for the "least of these". May we never get tired of serving You through serving them. 

In Jesus' name, 

-Amen

Forty Days of Prayer for Education: Day 12

Section 2: Refocus and Refresh

Join with us today and pray our prepared prayer on page 25 from the FORTY DAYS OF PRAYER FOR EDUCATION free ebook or pray independently from our focus scripture, Colossians 3:14 ESV and enjoy the accompanying song entitled, "Jesus at the Center" by Israel & New Breed .

Afterwards, silently reflect on Jesus' love for you. Since there is no greater love, fix your heart on accepting, investing and planting that same love in others this school year. 

GIVE LOVE, GIVE JESUS

And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 

– Colossians 3:14 ESV 

Dear Precious Father, Savior and Comforter,

 Today we pray that educators across this land reflect the love that You showed the world...

 You gave us Jesus.

 You gave us Light.

 You gave us Hope.

 You gave us Comfort. 

We declare that as You turn and revive the heart of educators towards You, that we will boldly and effectively reflect the love, compassion, light, hope and comfort of Jesus. May we willingly accept the cost of Your love and invest in the cost of Your love by planting the seeds of Your love in our students, their families and our coworkers. 

Above all the good things that we as educators do for our students, may we first put on true love, Jesus the Christ, who binds everything together in perfect harmony. 

In Jesus' name, 

-Amen

Forty Days of Prayer for Education: Day 11

Section 2: Refocus and Refresh

Join with us today and pray our prepared prayer on pages 23 and 24 from the FORTY DAYS OF PRAYER FOR EDUCATION free ebook or pray independently from our focus scripture, Luke 8: 11b, 15 NKJV and enjoy the accompanying song entitled, "The Corinthian Song" by Micah Stampley .

Afterwards, ask God to show you His promises to you in His word.  Write them down, post them, and speak these promises over your life this school year. 

GOD'S SEED

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God…But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. 

– Luke 8: 11b, 15 NKJV

To our Father who is in Heaven,

We come before You today thanking You for sowing Your promises in our lives. Your greatest promise, the Holy Spirit, works in us to lead and guide us in all of Your truth. Thank You for placing those truths in the Word of God which is breathed from Your mouth, active and sharper than any double edge sword and useful for teaching, correcting and training in righteousness.

Forgive the educators of this land for teaching without the foundation of the Word to lead us. Forgive every lesson that has led Your children astray from Your truth and has caused them to question Your existence. Forgive us for questioning Your ability, willingness and faithfulness when we had to endure a test or trial that was “too long” or “too hard” for our liking. We repent of these things and turn from them to You in praise in the name

of Jesus.

We praise You Lord for planting in our lives the promise of salvation, the promise of strength when we are weak, the promise of rest when we are burdened, the promise of Your presence, the promise of Your comfort and counseling, the promise of Your peace, the promise of victory, the promise of Your provision and for those promises being "yes" and "amen".

In this hour, we ask that you would recall these promises to mind when we face the injustices of financial disbursements within school systems, prejudices of others, faculty members who deny Your existence, increased workloads, performance based focuses, insufficient salaries, the affects of poverty on our students and their families, and the strain we put on our own health and family when we stress over these issues.

Remind us to "yet praise You" and wait for the harvest of your planted promises in our lives.

In the Name of Jesus,

-Amen

Forty Days of Prayer for Education: Day 10

Section 2: Refocus and Refresh

Join with us today and pray our prepared prayer on pages 21 and 22 from the FORTY DAYS OF PRAYER FOR EDUCATION free ebook or pray independently from our focus scripture, Ephesians 4: 21-24 NLT and enjoy the accompanying song entitled, " Renew Me" by Martha Munizzi.

Afterwards, listen for the Spirit of the Lord to reveal to you specific areas of your "educator nature" that need to be "put off". Write them down and refer to them throughout this school year. 

PUT OFF THE OLD MAN

Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

 – Ephesians 4: 21-24 NLT

Our Loving Lord and Savior, 

Thank You for being a God of new beginnings. Brand new mercies and Your grace greet us every day. More and more people are beginning a new life with You every day as they accept You as their Lord and Savior. Thank You for being the source of our refreshing and renewal. 

Holy Spirit, we pray today that You would lead and guide us in putting off our old selves. Help us to put off our old teaching strategies that are ineffective. Let us put on Your creativity and innovations. 

Help us to put off our old attitudes that are inconsistent depending on who we encounter. Let us put on the fruit of Your Spirit and show these virtues to everyone that we meet, not just those we believe are deserving of our best. 

Help us to put off our old frustrations. May we put on confidence that He who begun a good work in us shall see it to the end.

 Help us to put off the hopeless mindset of "it is what it is". May we put on the knowledge that You are able and willing to do exceeding, abundantly above all that we could ask for or imagine according to the power of Your Holy Spirit that is working in us. 

May we put on the new educator and show Your glory in our lives. 

In Jesus' name, 

-Amen

Forty Days of Prayer for Education: Day 9

Section 2: Refocus and Refresh

Join with us today and pray our prepared prayer on pages 19 and 20 from the FORTY DAYS OF PRAYER FOR EDUCATION free ebook or pray independently from our focus scripture, Luke 1:38 NKJV  and enjoy the accompanying song entitled, "Overshadow Me" by Mary Alessi.

Afterwards, remember to lift up all of our new teachers and administrators who may be feeling overwhelmed at the start of this school year.  In prayer, let the Lord reveal any areas where you may have apprehension about this year and remember Romans 8:28.

BE IT UNTO ME

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. 

- Luke 1:38 

Dear Heavenly Father, 

Thank You for purpose. Thank You for knowing each of us by name. You knew our unformed bodies, and all of the days ordained for us were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to us are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 

Since before the time of creation, You have destined that we would have dominion on this earth. However, because of sin, we lost that dominion to the enemy. Thank You Lord, that Jesus came to save that which was lost in the garden; our eternal relationship with You and our authority on earth. 

Through Jesus, You have designed the Body of Christ to aid in increasing the government, principles, culture and territory of heaven. Therefore, we exalt You Lord for equipping us for every good work and giving us everything we need for life and Godliness through our knowledge of You who has called us by Your own glory and goodness. 

Lord, in the knowledge of our God given destiny to educate, we ask that You would encourage and strengthen every educator who in their weariness are questioning their calling to teach. Help us Lord not to allow the discouragements and frustrations of teaching to overshadow the love for this profession that You placed in our hearts. Let us not forget that You are above the difficult people, policies and pay scales that we frequently deal with. We thank You for the strength to press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus. It’s in that strength that we decree a release from this deceiving weariness. 

So revive us Lord. Help us to look to You with the faith of Mary, the mother of Jesus. We understand that there may be difficulties attached to our assignments, but we will still say, “Yes, Lord”. We will accept what You have destined for us. We will seek Your face in prayer and in the reading of Your Word to understand Your will. We will use the authority You have given us and claim our schools as Kingdom territory where the fruit of Your spirit grows abundantly. 

Thank You for choosing us to teach the children of this country. May we do it to Your glory and by Your Spirit. 

In Jesus' name, 

-Amen

Forty Days of Prayer for Education: Day 8

 Section 2: Refocus and Refresh

Today we begin the second section of our forty day journey entitled Refocus and Refresh.  It is my hope that while praying these prayers we will set our minds on what is truly important; seeking, activating, operating in and sharing the Kingdom of Heaven.

So join with us and pray our prepared prayer on page 18 of the FORTY DAYS OF PRAYER FOR EDUCATION free ebook or pray independently from our focus scripture, Matthew 6:33 NKJV. 

Afterwards, take some time and ask Jesus to show you scriptures in His Word that will increase your focus on Him.  Write them down as He gives them to you over the next few days and refer back them throughout the school year.

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS WITHIN YOU

But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
-Matthew 6:33 NKJV

Dear King of kings and Lord of lord, El Shaddai, 

Today we come before You thanking You for Your ever increasing government. We thank You that You walked this earth to not only save and redeem our lives, but to show us how to operate in the principles and mandates of Your Kingdom. 

Thank You that the Word of God shows us how to deal with stress, insecurities, frustrations and lack. Lord, You know that we often deal with these situations. However, because You are our Lord, even if we feel pressed in on every side, we know that You are not only with us, but You are in us and for us. 

It is our prayer today for the educators in this country to seek first the Kingdom of God. Refocus our attention on You rather than on performance. Revive our hearts to long after You as the deer pants after water in a dry and thirsty land. Purify our spirits and purify our hearts. Holy Spirit, be our teacher and show us how to bring the culture of heaven into education. 

We declare revival and an overthrow of the kingdom of darkness in education. We stand in agreement that the Kingdom of Light, which is the Kingdom of God, will expand its borders from coast to coast in the United States of America. 

In the name of Jesus, the Lamb of God who is worthy to receive power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and praise 

-Amen

Please enjoy this minute of encouragement taken from the live STAND 2010 conference: