Prayers for teachers and students

School supplies taking prominent places in stores, reminding us that another school year is about to begin. We are blessed to have good schools in our area. I am thankful for people of faith who are involved as teachers, staff, administrators, coaches, school board members, etc. Parents who take an active role in their children's education are especially essential for our schools to perform well. They appreciate our prayers.

Thinking about ways to pray for our teachers and students, I found a prayer guide on Crosswalk.com. The title is "10 Prayers for our Schools: Pray for our nation's schools, students and teachers -- for their safety, purpose, focus, and more".

It begins with six verses to pray and uses an acrostic of the word "School". S stands for self-control: "Be alert and of sober mind." 1 Peter 5:8. C is for courage: "Be strong and courageous." Joshua 1:9. H is for help from the Holy Spirit: "Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." Romans 8:5. The first O stands for opportunities to do good: "As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people." Galatians 6:10. The second O is for overcome evil: "Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21. And the final letter L stands for love God and others: "Love the Lord your God ... and love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:37-39.

As the title suggests, there are 10 specific prayers that we can use to guide our thoughts as we pray about this school year.

The first prayer is a prayer against physical harm. We expect there to be peace in the classroom, but many times this is not the case. Pray for our teachers as they practice intruder drills hoping to never use the skills they acquire. Thank God for schools that are proactive in hiring resource officers and armed security who are willing to risk their lives to protect our children. Evil will continue to exist until Jesus returns and conquers it for good. May God place a spiritual barrier around each of our schools.

Prayer reminds us to thank the Lord when our children return home safely from school. Through prayer we can confess our worry and fear to God. We remember those who have suffered tragedies in the past and pray that God would continue to comfort them.

The second prayer is for the school to fulfill its purpose of giving our children an education. May God inspire teachers to protect the innocence of childhood and encourage a love of learning.

Third is a prayer for your child's influences. We pray for our children as the interact on the playground and in the hallways. May they avoid gossip and bullying. Pray for the friendships that they will develop. Again, that their innocence would be preserved, and they would be kind, understanding, and considerate of one another.

Fourth, pray for teachers. We want every teacher to have God's wisdom. Pray they would have the grace to help children who are not thriving. That they would realize that the children are observing them, and teachers are shaping the future every day.

Pray for the Christian teachers to be a godly influence. May they lead the way in grace, love, and kindness. They will encounter students who are facing psychological struggles on a larger scale than previous generations. Children need someone to tell them that God created them, and they are no accident.

The fifth prayer is a prayer that the teachers can pray. It is a prayer about keeping peace in the classroom. A prayer to balance mercy and discipline. To give both praise and constructive criticism. It is a prayer for help with the lessons and a desire to show God's love to all the students.

The last section is a list of five more areas: Thank God for learning; Get future-proofed, prudent behavior; Love fairness; Learn discretion; and finally, to fear God.

Praying for our teachers and our students helps us to appreciate the challenges as well as the blessings of education.