Teaching. Planning. Paperwork. Discipline. Meetings. Data. Testing. Such is the typical day for a public school teacher in America.
Today is Teacher Appreciation Day, which means we have a special opportunity to thank teachers and pray for them. I recently asked several public school educators how we can pray for them. Here are a handful of their responses.
1. Pray for teachers’ emotional and spiritual health.
For teachers, the school year is long — and the days feel longer. Most teachers have a heart to serve their students, and it can be hard to say no to extra opportunities when they see so many needs (even when their time and energy is depleted). As a result, teachers’ emotional and spiritual health suffer. On Teacher Appreciation Day, let’s pray that teachers would find a healthy balance in their lives.
This job is exhausting emotionally, spiritually and physically. We oftentimes struggle with healthy boundaries and self-care. Ask the Father to teach us how to have Sabbath rest and healthy boundaries. — Jennifer H.
2. Pray for teachers’ relationships with each other.
Navigating workplace friction can be difficult, and that is particularly true in a public school setting. Today, let’s pray that teachers would have healthy relationships with each other.
Pray for the relationships within the faculty. All teachers vent to each other. I often complain about students or specific situations without pausing to ask how another teacher’s day was. Pray that I will have an open ear. — Emily W.
Pray that teachers would find joy in the midst of their work.
3. Pray for teachers’ identity.
We are all tempted to make our jobs idols, and we seek to find our identity in them. Teachers are no different. Pray, then, that Christian teachers would find their identity in Christ.
Pray for us to be deeply rooted in our identity in Christ. The public school system wants us to be a myriad of things, and it is hard to remember who we are and what our larger purpose is as believers. — Jennifer H.
4. Pray for teachers’ joy.
Teachers find it easy to lose their sense of joy, particularly at the end of a long school year. Today, pray that they would find joy in the midst of their work.
This job is incredibly stressful and taxing. Pray that the Lord would bless us with pockets of joy, laughter, friendships, and deep connection with others. — Jennifer H.
Teaching and impacting students is such a joy and a worthy profession. There is some discontentment in public teaching over issues of pay, politics, curriculum. However, I hope that you know many teachers are dedicated to giving the best education they possibly can to every student that they teach. The school year is long and tiring for both students and teachers alike, and we all covet your prayers. — Eddy W.
5. Pray for safety.
Too often we hear stories of school shootings or other forms of violence. Jasmine T. encourages us to pray that God would keep the teachers, staff members and students safe.
Pray for [God’s] protection over the school and every staff member and student.
How else would you recommend we pray for teachers on Teacher Appreciation Day?
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2019-08-12 08:35:33
5 Ways to Pray for Christian Educators | Intersect
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