Rachel Whisman

Another school year is on the horizon for me this week. A new crew of 2nd graders will be walking into my classroom. Some will be hesitant, shy, paralyzed with nerves, and eager to say absolutely nothing but just try to make it through the day unscathed. Others will burst out of the gates, ready to take on this new adventure and strike up new friendships. I will do my best to ensure that everyone has an enjoyable time and arrives home safely.

The first day is a fun, exhausting, crazy, chaotic mess. The rest of the school year is nothing but a jolting ride on a rollercoaster, and that is one of the reasons we need your prayers. Here are three prayer points that would be gladly received by a teacher. 

The first is that God’s name would be glorified and not “Ms./Mrs.______” or “Mr._____”. This is our chief aim in life, for God’s glory to be magnified and not our own. A preacher put it well when he prayed, “Hide your servant behind the cross.” The Gospel is what needs to calibrate my tone, thoughts, actions, and speech towards my students. Pray that teachers in the good and bad would delight to display Christ and “entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1 Peter 4:19). 

Next, the salvation of souls. I don’t often see the results of my work. I have students for a whole year, then they leave. I nurture, care, and teach them, but am left at the end of the year pondering, “Will they ever come to know Christ?” I plow every day, but I may not know til glory in heaven. From students to my co-workers, their salvation is all in our heavenly Father’s hands. Pray as Paul did in Ephesians 1:18, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints”

Finally, the teacher’s heart posture would embody Psalm 118:24, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24). I want to do this job with joy and passion because ultimately I am serving the Lord in how I go about the work He has assigned me to do. God has made this day, whether I suffer from my plans not going my way, a student disrespecting me, or a lesson not working out the way I thought it would. Teachers manage a whole classroom for the day. It is tempting to believe that it is their willpower and endurance that get them through it, but it is not. It is the Lord’s. Pray that teachers would depend upon and look to Him for their ultimate satisfaction and joy. 

We need your prayers. As a teacher, it is encouraging and warming to hear someone come up to me or text me saying, “I am praying for your class.” If you know a student or teacher, “adopt” them for a year. Commit to interceding in prayer on their behalf. Mark a day, like Tuesday or Thursday, as “Teacher Tuesday/Thursday.” Or, as you drive through the notorious school zones, which exercise your patience, and see the lights flashing, use that as a cue to pray.

Another academic school year is upon us. The seasons will change, and the year will come to a close. What has been prayed for will not be wasted. They will be answered in the Lord’s timing, wisdom, and way to direct our hearts to Him because He alone is worthy of our prayers and praise.