The First Day of School

For I am about to do something new.  See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?  I will make a pathway through the wilderness.  I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.  Isaiah 43:19

This was the day I had waited for.  Something new.  It was supposed to be exciting and fun.

But there I sat.  Nervous. Alone. In a room of strangers.

And then, he appeared at the door. He and his mother.  Holding hands.

At last: familiar faces.

Relief swept over me.  Anxiety subsided. 

It was the first day of first grade.  1973.

We had been playmates since birth six years earlier when we were delivered just two days apart.  As I celebrate our 50^th birthday, I can still visualize the two of them standing in the doorway of Miss Heinemann’s classroom.

He met me with that big grin and hearty laugh, traits he kept throughout his lifetime. To have him there in that classroom on that first day was comforting. I was no longer alone.  No longer nervous.  His familiar presence put me at ease.

In a Nutshell

Our presence can be a comfort to someone today.

You are the Creator of new beginnings.  I come to You this morning with a grateful heart, praising and thanking you for a new beginning, a fresh start.  Father, I commit this new school year to you.  I leave my past behind. I admit my failures: forgive me of my sins, merciful God. I am eager to follow You in doing something new.  I thank you for this opportunity to start fresh with a new group of students.  Thank You for reminding me how it feels to be new, nervous and alone.  Bring comfort to me in this newness today, and to my students as they face newness, also.  My heart is full of excitement and joy! In Christ’s name, Amen.

Praying Over Our Students

Father,

O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer!

Forgive me for times when I have failed to be attentive to the needs of others.  Forgive me for being unkind, impatient, curt, selfish.

You have entrusted these children to my care this year, and I am eager to serve You by serving them because Your Word tells me “when you did it to one of the least of these, you were doing it to me!”

Empower me with a discerning spirit¹ to see into the heart of each child.  What are her needs? What is he lacking? How is she hurting?  What does he need from me?  Equip me to be Your hands and feet as I serve every child every day in this classroom, for even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others.

Let me recognize their talents and encourage them to pursue their dreams.  Let everything I say be good and helpful, so that my words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.  Because we will harvest what we plant, let us sow in this classroom seeds of kindness, truthfulness, compassion, and diligence.

Grant that I may love every child and care enough to discipline each one with grace and mercy so that, having been trained in this way, they will enjoy a peaceful harvest of right living.

Father, You are the light of the world.  Let your light shine for them to see.  Let me be a lamp that gives your light to everyone in this classroom because You have made this light shine in my heart so I could know Your glory. May every child in this classroom come to know You because of the light that shines here.

In the holy and precious name of Jesus, Amen.

1 Peter 5:2

Matthew 25:40

Mark 10:45

Galatians 6:7

Ephesians 4:29

Matthew 5:14-16

Isaiah 60:1

Proverbs 13:15

Hebrews 12:11

¹1 Corinthians 12:10

Praying Over Our Teachers

Almighty Father,

As we anticipate the start of a new school year, I lift up this teacher to you, believing that you will give her strength and bless her with peace.

Help this teacher to care for the flock that You have entrusted to her.  Help her to watch over it willingly, not grudgingly – not for what she will get out of it, but because she is eager to serve You.

Through Your Spirit renew her thoughts and attitudes. Take control of what she says, O Lord, and guard her lips, for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Let everything she says be good and helpful, so that her words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

Father, Your Word tells us we will always harvest what we plant. Guide this teacher as she plants the good seeds of righteousness, so that she will harvest a crop of love within her classroom and throughout our school. Help her not get tired of doing what is good, because at just the right time she will harvest a blessing.

Provide her with a spirit of discernment¹, that she may recognize the hurt, the anxiety, the needs, of the children in her care, and enable her to show mercy² and demonstrate love in action.

I pray this in the precious and holy name of Jesus. 

Amen.

On this day I have prayed for you:

1 Psalm 29:11 ~ Peter 5:2 ~ Ephesians 4:23

Psalm 141:3 ~ Matthew 12:34 ~ Ephesians 4:29

Galatians 7:10 ~ Hosea 10:12 ~ Galatians 6:7-10

¹1 Corinthians 12: 10

²Matthew 5:7

Praying Over Our Classrooms

Father,

Enter this classroom;

let it be a sanctuary for You,

that You may dwell among the ones

who will gather in this room

every day this school year. 

Your Word tells us in Isaiah 25:4,

“You are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord,

a tower of refuge to the needy in distress. 

You are a refuge from the storm

and a shelter from the heat.”

Let this classroom be a refuge for children:

a place of safety,

a place of calm,

a place of stability,

a place where needs are met,

where love is found,

and acceptance abounds.

Father, enrich this classroom with fertile soil,

that seeds of the fruit of Your Spirit –

love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness and self-control --

may take root and grow

in every child and teacher.

Let this classroom be a place where

the desire to learn meets the opportunity to learn,

where attitude and aptitude are equally celebrated.

Let this classroom be a place where

the teacher loves to teach

and students love to learn.

In the name of Jesus, the Master Teacher, I pray.  Amen.

Praying Over Our Co-Workers

Almighty God, You are all-knowing.  You know my words before I speak.  You know my thoughts before they are formed.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from You.  Everything is naked and exposed before Your eyes, and You are the one to whom we are accountable. 

My heart is grateful for the work family you have given me. Thank you for colleagues who encourage each other and build each other up.  As Your Word says, I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love, so, too, let us cultivate this kind of love among our co-workers, because love covers a multitude of sins.

Father, forgive me for taking my colleagues for granted, for breaking the golden rule, for not treating others as I would like to be treated.  Cleanse my heart of any bitterness, conflict, hurtful criticism, and impure thoughts.

Allow us to make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends us.  Let us be clothed in love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. We know that among the things you detest are a lying tongue and a person who sows discord in a family.  Lord, convict our hearts that we may confess these sins and turn from this wickedness.  Forgive us. 

Help us to watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble our work family, corrupting many.  Help us be peacemakers who plant seeds of peace so that we may reap a harvest of righteousness.  Free us from the temptation to gossip so that we will not add grief and pain to those who are wounded.

Help us to be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.  Grant that we should be of one mind, that we would sympathize with each other, and love each other as brothers and sisters.    Help us to be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.  Let us not repay evil for evil, nor retaliate with insults when people insult us.  Instead, help us to pay them back with a blessing because that is what You, Lord, have called us to do, and You will bless us for it.

In the precious and holy name of Jesus, Amen.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Colossians 2:2

1 Peter 4:8

Colossians 3:13-14

Proverbs 6:19

Hebrews 12:15

James 3:18

Psalm 69:26

Ephesians 4:32

1 Peter 3: 8-10

Praying Over Our Offices

Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.  How precious is your unfailing love, O God!

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?  Cleanse me from these hidden faults.  

You have blessed our school office with people who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.  They are like trees planted along a riverbank with roots that reach deep into the water.  Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.  Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.  Thank you that their lives are an example to many, because you have been their strength and protection.

Father, equip this office with all they need for doing Your will; produce in them, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to You.  May they keep on loving our colleagues as brothers and sisters, remembering to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!

Let them not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.  Today’s trouble is enough for today.  Just as the Lord helps the fallen, and lifts those bent beneath their loads, they, too, reach out to help others. Strengthen them in their efforts to serve others.

Take control of what they say, O Lord, and guard their lips.  Let everything they say be good and helpful, so that their words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.  Father, in the past you have encouraged many people; you have strengthened those who were weak.  Your words have supported those who were falling; you encouraged those with shaky knees.  I ask that You bless those in this office with the ability to speak encouragement and reassurance into the lives of each person who passes through these doors.

In the precious and holy name of Jesus, Amen.

Psalm 36: 5-7

Psalm 19:12

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Psalm 71:7

Hebrews 13:21

Hebrews 13:1-2

Matthew 6:34

Psalm 145:14

Psalm 141:3

Ephesians 4:29

Job 4:3-4

Praying Over Our Campus

Lord, You are my fortress, protecting me from danger, so I have no need to tremble. When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.  Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident in You.  Father, Look down and see me praying for my school.

Merciful Father, You have declared that if Your people who are called by Your name will humble ourselves and pray and seek Your face and turn from our wicked ways, You will hear from heaven and will forgive us our sins.  I confess that I have sinned against You.  I have tarnished the image of this school and Your name with my words and actions.  I have been selfish, angry, haughty, begrudging, unforgiving. I have neglected opportunities to share your goodness with others. Forgive me. 

I believe You have chosen and set apart this school to be a beacon of hope and light in a desolate community.  I believe you set this campus on holy ground by filling it with Your presence.  This campus is Your temple, and You have told us Your eyes will be open and Your ears attentive to every prayer made in Your temple.  For you have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy – a place where Your name will be honored forever.  You will always watch over it, for it is dear to Your heart.  Father, may my words and actions honor Your name.

In the Old Testament, You directed Nehemiah to build a physical wall around the city of Jerusalem to defend against enemies. Since our school began, You have guarded us against evil forces.  You heard and answered the prayerful pleas of our founding families who encircled our campus in a Jericho March. 

Hear our prayer, again, Lord: strengthen the invisible wall of defense against forces that seek to destroy us, to mock us, to defame us, to undermine us, to distract us, to zap our energy and enthusiasm.  Extend your protection throughout our campus to every student, faculty and staff member.

I thank you, Father, for your constant presence on this campus and for wrapping each of us in your protective arms.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Psalm 27:1-3

Nehemiah 1: 5-6

2 Chronicles 7:15-16

Nehemiah 4