Last Sunday, as a community, we prayed for all those who are connected to education - from the preschooler to those teach at the college level.
As I watched literally everyone stand and surround the students and teachers in prayer, I was struck that we are all connected to this very important element of life. We are all on the journey of learning and life and seek to trust that God is with us. We all affected by what goes on in our schools and how important it is for our students and teachers to thrive.
Embarking on another school year brings me to my knees to pray. Know that this will not not be the only prayer I pray for our Union Kids, teachers, and school administrators this year. But this is the one that I pray as we launch into the unknown of the 2024-2025 school year. We are blessed and Zephaniah 3:17 that Emily Huff preached about a few week ago tells us this in no uncertain terms. We are not alone.
Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.
Lord,
As children walk into school, I pray that Your strength and peace will cover them each and every day. Remind them they can turn to You when they feel scared or discouraged, and You will give them exactly what they need. I humbly ask that You will remind them that they don’t have to do this life alone because You are always with them.
Lord, please clothe our children with Your mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience so they will glorify You. I pray they will show kindness to their classmates and the staff. If a time comes when kindness is not shown to them, may they feel Your presence all around them enabling them to be a light for You even when it is difficult.
Lord, I humbly ask You to protect each and every child as they go to school every day. You are their refuge and ultimate protector. Therefore, I ask that their emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical health will be guarded and protected by Your mighty hand. Thank You for caring for them, Jesus. When they face a hard subject, have a problem with friends, get in trouble, or simply feel fatigued from school in general, I ask that You will uphold them with Your mighty hand and restore them.
We pray that You would equip all teachers, educators and staff with wisdom that they need to lead their classes and schools every single day. God, we pray that Your strength would fill them and enable them to do all that they do with a heart of compassion, grace, and understanding. We pray that you, God, would give them encouragement. Give them help when they’re weary and lots of grace when they feel like they’ve reached the limit. Everything that concerns them, God, we know that it’s in Your hands today. We lift them up.
And we ask that you would raise up people (and students!) of prayer that will cover each school and learning center with your Spirit. May transformation take place this year in new ways in our schools. God, you are good, and you are good at being God so we trust you in all of this.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.