Praying for teachers

When I was a schools’ worker, I used to put on an annual meal for Christian teachers from the education borough where I worked. They came from around twenty schools in the local area. Even though term time is busy, and evenings are precious, most of them made the effort to come. Why? Because it was an opportunity to meet with other Christians who uniquely understood the situation they were in. (There was always very good cake as well!)

Do you know any Christian teachers? (Or classroom assistants, school administrators, playground supervisors…) For some, this is the start of a new term – but whether it is or not, here are a few suggestions for how you could pray for them this week:

• For their own relationship with God. Teaching is a full on, time-consuming job, so pray that this won’t lead them to neglect their own time with God and His Word.
• To live godly lives. Being in school can feel particularly like the proverbial goldfish bowl – lots of people outside staring in. You are very much on view to the other staff, the children and their parents. And even when you’re walking down the street or doing your weekly shopping, you may suddenly come face-to-face with a child who knows you. (I was once spotted in a supermarket by a six-year-old and his mum. He took a long look at all the food I had put on the conveyer belt, then asked me: “Miss Mitchell, are you very hungry?”) So let’s pray that Christian staff live in a godly way that honours the Lord, both in school and out.
• To be ready to give an answer. Depending on the school, a teacher may have some freedom to talk about their faith, or they may have none at all. They need to live with integrity, and honour the expectations of the school, even if that means never explicitly sharing the gospel. But I used to remind myself that even though I wasn’t allowed to challenge individual children to respond to the gospel message, there were no limitations on what the Spirit can do! So pray that he will work through any Christian members of staff to point to the truth about Jesus, and that they will be ready to give an appropriate answer if asked about their faith.
• To cope! School can be a very hard environment to be a Christian, but it’s difficult in plenty of other ways too. Some children need gentle encouragement, others require firm discipline. The expectations on teachers are huge – not just in front of the children, but also lesson planning, admin, reports, inspections, parents’ evenings, extra-curricular activities… Pray for both stamina and patience, and that the Lord will help them to cope with the pressure in a godly way.
• If possible, ask them how they want you to pray. There is very little that is more encouraging than someone saying they are praying for you, and then asking for specific things they can pray for or thank God for. (And it’s even better if you remember to ask again in a couple of weeks to see how those prayers are being answered.) Be aware that some of the issues Christian teachers face will need to be kept confidential. If you think you might struggle with that, ask just for general prayer points rather than the names of individual children or staff.

And if you don’t know any Christian teachers, why not pray for a school near you? Ask God to provide Christian staff in that school who will live for him and bring glory to his name in that place.