Prayers for the School Year

Pray for teachers as they prepare for their new students.

Pray for administrators as they manage staff, students, and parents.

Pray for educational assistants as they step in to fill the gaps in the classroom, to help students who might otherwise struggle.

Pray for custodians and cafeteria workers as they prepare to do jobs and tasks that are so crucial, yet often unappreciated, until they go undone.

Pray for bus drivers, school protection officers, and crossing guards as they work to keep students safe. 

Pray for school nurses as they focus on keeping students healthy.

Pray for school counselors as they hear the highs and lows of students, and equip students to develop healthy relationships with others and themselves. 

Pray for students in new schools, new grades, and new classes. 

Pray for parents sending their children off to learn, grow, and mature. 

Pray Using Acronyms: JOY

There are many acronyms we can use to remind ourselves topics to pray for. This post will highlight one of them: the JOY method.

JOY gives us three categories to pray through:

J: Jesus

O: Others

Y: You

In our first section, we are focusing on requests close to Jesus' heart. 

Suggestions: 

-Pray for the lost (Luke 19:10)

-Pray for Christ-followers, including you and me, to obey the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20)

-Pray for people to repent (Matthew 4:17)

-Pray for those on the margins of society: the orphans, the widows, foreigners, the poor, people with disabilities (Matthew 25:31-46)

-Good news to be proclaimed to the poor, prisoners to be freed, the blind to see, and the oppressed to be set free (Luke 4:14-29)

-Pray for peace (John 16:33)

-Pray for those mentioned in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12)

-Pray for your enemies and persecutors (Matthew 5:43-48)

In our second section, we are focusing on requests of other people.

What have people asked you to pray for? 

What concerns do you have for your family and friends? 

In the third and final section, we are focusing on requests for yourself.

What vices is the Holy Spirit convicting you of?

What virtues is the Holy Spirit wanting to grow in you? 

What areas of your life do you need God's wisdom, guidance, and direction? 

Challenge: Take time this week to pray using the JOY method. 

Reflect on your experience. Which part was hard for you to do? Which part came the most naturally to you? 

Pray Using Acronyms: ACTS

There are many acronyms we can use to remind ourselves topics to pray for. This post will highlight one of them: the ACTS method.

ACTS gives us four categories to pray through:

A: Adoration

C: Confession

T: Thanksgiving

S: Supplication (making requests)

When we adore God, we can worship Him for who He is and praising Him for what He has done. We can focus on His characteristics and His faithful actions.

When we confess to God, we can admit the wrong things we have done (sins of commission) and the good things we have failed to do (sins of omission). We can repent of the nudges of the Spirit that we have ignored, as well as our tendency to be so busy that we drown out God's voice.

When we give thanks to God, we can be grateful for what He has provided in our lives. We can even be thankful for things that frustrate us, because we might see a blessing behind the frustration. For example, if dishes in the sink is frustrating, we can be grateful that we have eaten today.

Finally, when we make supplications to God, we are making requests of Him. We can make these requests on our behalf or on the behalf of others. Our tendency is to dictate to God what the problem is AND what we think the solution should be. It is humbling and unnerving to pray without telling God what outcome He should give, but to rather present the problem and trust in His solution in His timing. 

Challenge: Take time this week to pray using the ACTS method. 

Reflect on your experience. Which part was hard for you to do? Which part came the most naturally to you? 

Pharisaical Prayers

Luke 18 records the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee. Jesus tells a group of people who were confident in their righteousness and who looked down on others this parable. A Pharisee and a tax collector went to pray. The Pharisee thanked God that he was not like robbers/evildoers/adulterers/tax collectors. The Pharisee tells God how often he fasts and how much he tithes. But the tax collector stood apart, looking down, and remorsefully asked God to have mercy on him, even though he was a sinner. The tax collector, instead of the Pharisee, when home justified before God. Jesus finishes by saying that those who humble themselves with be exalted and those who exalt themselves will be humbled.

Typically when we hear this parable, we all condemn the Pharisee and align ourselves with the tax collector's humility.

Except...we DO thank God that we aren't practicing <shameful sin>.

Except...we DO thank God that WE and those WE love aren't experiencing a disaster like <recent place>.

Except...we DO thank God that WE and those WE love don't have a disability like <recent person>. 

Except...we thank God that WE and those WE love are safe when the ambulance drives by.

Except...we do thank God that WE and those WE love aren't in <war-torn country>.

So let us stop praying like the Pharisee. 

Let us pray FOR those experiencing trauma, without thanking God that someone WE love isn't suffering.

Let us pray FOR those trapped in addictions, sins, and problems, without thanking God that WE don't have that struggle.

Let us pray FOR those experiencing disasters, without thanking God that OUR area is safe.

Let us pray FOR those adjusting to new disabilities or living with a long-term disability, without thanking God that WE are still "normal". 

Let us pray FOR those in the ambulance, without thanking God that no one WE love is injured.

Let us pray FOR those in war-torn countries, without thanking God that WE are safe. 

Because when we hear about a tragedy or a disaster and our first instinct is to thank God that it happened to someone else, we are not exhibiting Christlike love. 

So let us pray less like the Pharisee and more like the tax collector. 

Praying the Scriptures: Col. 4:2-4

Paul tells us that we should devote ourselves to prayer. We should be watchful of what to pray for and thankful when we pray.

We should pray for those spreading the Gospel and shepherding the churches, so that doors will be opened so that Christ may be proclaimed.

Even though Paul is in chains due to the Gospel, his prayer is for him to proclaim it clearly, instead of for his safety, freedom, or revenge.

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should."

New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Praying for the Lost with an App

I was recently introduced to a digital service to help us to specifically pray for unreached people groups: Unreached of the Day by Joshua Project.

It gives you the option of downloading an app or signing up for emails.

It gives helpful prayer points, such as a summary of the people group (including country of origin), ministry obstacles, outreach ideas, scripture focus, scripture prayer, and statistics. We can click on their full profile, prayer cards, a bulletin insert, or a handout as well. 

If we are Christians, we should be praying for the lost to come to faith in Christ. It is good to be personally praying for the non-Christians we know, but we should also be praying big prayers for entire groups all around the world to encounter Christ.

Prayer Instructions in the Scriptures: Matt 6:5-8

This selection isn't a prayer per say, but before the Lord's Prayer, Jesus gave instructions on how to pray.

We are to pray in secret, not standing in front of people to be seen by them. 

We are to pray simply, not babbling, repeating ourselves, or being extra wordy.

 
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.