My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. If we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours. 1 John 5:15-15 (MSG)

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. Ephesians 6:17-18 (MSG)

This week’s Supplication prayers will focus on Special Education, Safety Officers, Safety Patrol and Attendance During the Winter Holiday Season.

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Listen to the podcast here

 

Prayercast: Guidance For Teachers: Prayer For Special Education, Safety Officers, Safety Patrol, And Attendance During the Winter Holiday Season

Welcome to the show. We’re so glad that you’re here. We’re going to start with a prayer of adoration.

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Prayer of Adoration. Father, we praise You. We praise You, Lord. We praise You in the sanctuary. We praise You in Your mighty heavens. We praise You for Your mighty deeds. We praise You according to Your excellent greatness. We praise You with instruments and dance. We praise You for all that we are. You are worthy of all praise and all glory.

Every creature in the heavens, on Earth, under the Earth, and in the sea proclaim to Him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor, glory, and might forever and ever. Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. All that is in the heavens and the earth is Yours. Yours is the kingdom, Lord. You are exalted as head above all.

Come let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before You, Lord, our maker. We worship You for Your loving kindness. We worship You that You allow us in the land of the living to bow our knees in the name of Jesus. You called us into Your kingdom and we are able to confess without any shame the name of Jesus, Your Son. It is by Your merciful loving kindness that we are able to acknowledge that all things were made through Your son, Jesus. Without Him, not anything made that was made.

Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of God, the Father’s nature. Jesus upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for our sins, He sat down at the right hand of Majesty on high. For that, we are grateful. We worship and adore You. We choose to love the Lord, our God, with all our hearts, all our souls, and all our minds. We adore You because You are loving, Heavenly Father. Tell us that we can call You and You will answer us. Not only that but You will also tell us great and hidden things that we have not known. We adore You, Lord. Thank You. Amen.

We adore You because You are loving Heavenly Father. You tell us that we can call You and You will answer us. Not only that, but You will also tell us great and hidden things that we have not known. Click To Tweet

This is the Prayer of Confession. Proverbs 28:13 says, “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” Father God, we come to You confessing with open hearts of our wrongdoings. We confess that at times, we’re ungrateful for the things that You have provided for us. At times, we’re not as appreciative and thankful towards You as we should be. We confess that we don’t always enter Your gates with praise and Your courts with thanksgiving. At times, this concept is even foreign to us, whether that’s because of circumstances, busy schedules or not being mindful of You. We repent of this.

Father God, we confess that at times, we complain, vent, and give life to negative situations through the power of our tongues. We pray that You help us with this mindset and hard posture. We confess that at times, we speak more of the things that hurt us, irritate us, bother us, or are not of You than what is of You and even of You. We do not praise You more than we speak negative things at times.

Father God, we confess that at times, we’re not serving You with our whole hearts. We may allow things at our school tough times in a variety of other things to stand in the way of our praise. We thank You for showing us areas where we do this and confess that with Your help, we will do better to speak with You and have us praise You in all circumstances. Your praise shall continuously be on our lips.

Father God, we confess that at times, we are not as bright lights as we should be as you have called us to be. We know that this is not the right way to be. We haven’t always listened to the problems of the Holy Spirit. We haven’t always stopped our tongues from speaking scathing comments and remarks. We haven’t always checked our tempers. We haven’t always acted how Christ tells us and shows us to act.

We confess this as we ask for Your forgiveness. We confess that apart from me, we cannot do this Father God, because we are humans dealing with other humans. We confess that we need Your strength, Your mercy, and for You to continue to develop the fruits of the Spirit in us to have us be that light that You will have us to be not only to our students but to their families, our coworkers, and our administration as well.

Father God, we confess that we have had doubts. We know that in Your word, it says You do not lie. It is not You that needs to change but it’s us that needs to change. We need You and we notice but at times, it’s hard for us to keep our eyes on You. We confess that at times, we lean on our understanding, and we know that this shouldn’t be.

In our confession, we are humbling ourselves and turning back to You. Set us on the path that You would have us to be on. We confess that we need You and should seek You more than all things so that You pour back out of us in times of crisis, frustration, anger, adjustment, and disaster, in the name of Jesus. We confess, Holy Spirit, that we need You at times to help us shut our mouths and at times, to speak up more. We need discernment to do this. We praise You and thank You for all You’re doing for us. In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.

Prayer of Thanksgiving. At the time, You will say, “Our Lord, we are thankful and we worship only You. We will tell the nations how glorious You are and what You have done.” Speak every word in gratitude and do everything with a thankful heart. Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, the Father, through Him. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. Click To Tweet

Lord, we are thankful for the times when we don’t know what we’re doing and we come to You in prayer. Lord, thank You for the godly wisdom to lead our classroom and the wisdom to make correct instructional decisions and plan our lessons effectively. We thank You for the wisdom to deal with conflicts in our classroom among the students and the wisdom to handle issues that may come up with colleagues, parents, or administrators. For if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.

Father, more times than not, there are moments when it’s easy to be led by our flesh during the day in the classroom. Thank You, Lord, for helping us to walk in the Spirit. Holy Spirit, thank You for a front-row seat in our classroom. We thank You, Lord, for our hearing is sharp and keen enough to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit when we’re teaching and interacting with our students, colleagues, parents, and administrators. Lord, we desire that the Holy Spirit guide us each moment of the day. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance: against such, there is no law.

God, thank You for the Spiritual gifts You bring into our lives, affection for our students and their families, and enthusiasm for our teaching profession. Thank You, Lord, for our willingness and conviction to stick with all aspects of our profession as educators. Thank You, Lord, that we are able to be involved in and loyal to our academic assignments, not needing to force our way in life. We are able to direct our energies wisely.

We thank You, God, for helping us to walk in love and possess true joy. Thank You, Father, for a peaceful classroom and for patiently executing godly ways throughout our workday. Thank You, God, for our ability to interact with our students with gentleness and goodness and remain faith-filled in spite of our circumstances. Lord, thank You for helping us to be humble. Lord, thank You for helping us to exhibit unconditional love for our students regardless of what behaviors they demonstrate. Lord, thank You for helping us to not allow situations to determine our mood but to dwell in the joy that comes from being rooted and grounded in You.

Thank You, God, that we are slow to speak and quick to hear. Thank You, Lord, that we think before we react and operate as servants of You, Almighty God, in selflessness in our classroom during professional development and parent conferences. Thank You, Lord, that we are able to flow with gentleness each and every day. Thank You, Lord, for allowing us to see our students through Your eyes, reminding us that each child is precious, unique, and carefully designed by You, and for seeing them as human beings who need unconditional love, support, and encouragement.

Thank You, God, for helping us to believe in the positive growth of our students and faith that through You, we can be the teachers You created us to be. Lord, thank You for strengthening us as we stand in front of our students to take the focus off of us and place it on You. Let this mind be in You, which was also in Christ Jesus.

Thank You, Lord, for Your Spirit that dwells on the inside of us, which helps us to renew our minds each day with Your word and see things through the lens of the words of God. In the name of Jesus, may all that you strive to achieve or attain be yours. May you be firmly grounded in the righteousness of God and your spirit be lifted. May you make progress because you are blessed and highly favored with the peace and protection of God surrounding you. Amen.

We pray for our supplications, especially for diverse learners. Lord God, You have made each of us so unique, individual, and special and made in Your image everyone. Lord, we pray for those children who may look different, who may learn differently, and who need special attention from teachers. Lord, we pray for IEPs. We pray that they are aligned with students’ potential and that parents understand the terminology and the ideas as IEPs are discussed.

Lord, we ask that You provide interpreters and clinicians who are sensitive to parents’ concerns and their feelings or lack of understanding. Lord, we ask that You allow them to use language that is clear and easy to understand for parents. It is so that when an IEP meeting is done, all the parties are working together for what is best for their child. Lord, we pray for the medically fragile children, the ones who have numerous physical and mental challenges. We pray healing over them. We pray that they receive the medicine and the therapy that they need to be the best that they can be, Lord God.

Lord, we thank You for all the nurses at schools who minister medicine and feed children through feeding tubes, G-tubes, and all the myriad of different ways they care for students. Lord, thank You for your tenderness and gentleness with these most fragile children. Lord, we pray that resources for parents are abundant. We pray that parents receive rest and they have patience with their children outside of school, Lord. We pray especially, Lord, for single parents who are handling so many different challenges with a special needs child or several special needs children. Send them help, Lord God.

Lord, we pray for children who are missing school because of appointments, therapy sessions, and doctor visits because of their special needs, Lord. Lord, we ask that You fill in the gap that You provide where there is lacking. Lord, be with SECAs, the Special Education Classroom Assistants. Lord, help them to know what kids need intuitively. Every child is different, Lord. It’s impossible to be trained to know what each and every child needs, Lord. We’re asking a supernatural sense for each assistant to know how to work with each child, Lord God. Give them also patience, Lord, generosity in their time, and a sensitivity to each child that they work with.

Lord, we pray over placements that children are put in the correct classrooms at the correct levels with the right teachers and the right assistants. Lord, we pray for the therapists who work with diverse learners that they are gentle and they know how to help students improve in their walking, running, and movements. Lord, we pray for the mountains of paperwork the teachers and clinicians are required to fill out. Lord, we ask that they not give up and that they serve You in all they do. Give them an extra amount of energy to do this work that sometimes seems monotonous but makes such a difference for each and every child, Lord.

Lord, we pray over language barriers between teachers and parents and between teachers and SECAs. We ask, Lord, that conversations and communication remain clear. Lord, we pray that teachers are able to start seeing improvement in their students. Since we have been in school for a couple of months, Lord, we ask that teachers be given a glimpse of what they are doing every day in their students and that they see tangible improvement, even if it’s the slightest bit.

We ask that teachers be given a glimpse of what they are doing every day in their students, that they see tangible improvement. Click To Tweet

We pray for students, Lord, who are nonverbal and can’t express themselves necessarily with their eyes, their mouths, or even their hands. Their minds are working, Lord. Help them not to give up, Lord. We ask You, Lord, for You to communicate with them. Jesus, You be the go-between those students and their teacher. Lord, we pray for new ways of learning to be discovered for each child. For senses that are not functioning correctly like eyesight, hearing, smell, and voice, Lord, we ask that You make them whole again.

Lord, we pray for parents. Lord, we know that it is a challenge to have a student who doesn’t have special needs. When there are special children who need special resources and a special increased amount of patients to work with them, we lift these parents who might be up all night with their children because the children don’t sleep, Lord. They might have to continually take off work to drive children to appointments and extra doctor visits. Lord, bless these parents with patience, rest, and wisdom.

Powerful savior, we lift attendance during holidays. We ask that You provide safety for families who are traveling over Thanksgiving and Christmas. Lord, we ask that their plans would not interfere with school days and learning. Lord, we ask that parents value consistency and learning and prioritize their child’s attendance at school.

Lord, we also pray for teachers and school staff that they remain honest and true in using sick days and personal business days and that they would honor You in their workday by teaching and serving to the very best of their abilities. Lord, we ask that they would find joy in their work and not constantly be looking forward to the last day of the week. Lord, we ask that You would give them a hunger to come back to their jobs knowing that they’re serving You and not just each other. Lord, we ask that they would praise and thank You even on the most challenging days.

Lord, we offer petitions for our safety officers, safety patrol people, and security guards. Lord, we ask that they have eagle eyes and senses to predict and catch disruptions, danger, and violence before they happen. Lord, give them supernatural signals to alert them. We pray against hurt and harm to these officers and the staff and children they are charged with protecting.

Lord, we ask that staff and the students grow in trust in these people and that their relationships be genuine, honest, and loving. Lord, we pray that these safety personnel may serve their school communities with respect, courage, self-control, and kindness. Lord, we ask that You give them wisdom under the pressure of tense situations and emergencies. Use them to bring peace and calm. Shield them from evil as they do their jobs to keep schools safe. Lord, we pray for those who do not know You. Draw them to You, Lord Jesus, so that they have the knowledge and assurance that You are our great defender and protector.

We pray Psalm 91 over our schools. Father, in the name of Jesus, we lift our schools to You and pray for a hedge of protection around them. We thank You, Father, that You are a wall of fire around and about every single school. You have sent Your angels to encamp around them. Father, we thank You that our schools dwell in the secret place of the most high and abide under the shadow of the Almighty. We say of You, Lord, that You are our school’s refuge and fortress. Their God, in You will they trust. You cover our schools with Your feathers, and under Your wings, they shall trust.

Your truth shall be our school’s shield and buckler. Our school shall not be afraid of the terror by night nor of the arrow that flies by day. Only with our school’s eyes will they behold and see the reward of the wicked because our schools have made You, Lord, their refuge and habitation. No evil shall befall them. No accident will overtake them. Neither shall any plague or calamity come near them for You will give Your angels charge over our schools to keep them in all their ways.

Father, because our schools have set their love upon You, therefore will You deliver them. Our schools shall call upon You and You will answer them. You will be with our schools in trouble. You will deliver them and satisfy them with long life and show our schools Your salvation. Lord, Father God, our schools are major sources of cultural influence in our nation. We ask God, to raise those who will fulfill Your purposes according to Your will in every school. We pray a prayer of benediction from Ephesians 1:18-19. I ask that the eyes of your heart be enlightened so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. In Jesus’ name, we lift these prayers to You, Lord. Amen.