We are called to pray, go, and serve. We do this by locking arms with other Christian educators. We are truly better together. This week, we are focusing our collective supplications on superintendents, immigrants/newcomers, Jewish students/teachers, mindsets/heart postures to be turned towards God, and opportunities to share our faith during the Christmas season. Join in and become a better steward of our faith, a messenger of Christ, and bringer of the good news to people in our profession and beyond.

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Prayercast: Teachers’ Prayer Call For Superintendents, Immigrants, Jewish Students And Teachers, And Sharing Our Faith During The Christmas Season

We’re going to start by praying the Acts prayer model and then afterward, we will have praise and prayer requests. Let us pray. Adoration. Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into his presence with thanksgiving. Know that the Lord He is God. It is He who made us and we are His. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and His course with praise. Give thanks to Him. Bless His name for the Lord is good. His steadfast love endures forever and His faithfulness to all generations. All give thanks to the Lord. Call upon His name. Make known His deeds among the people. Sing to Him. Sing praises to Him. Tell of all His wondrous works. Glory in His holy name. Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

My God and King, bless your name forever and ever. Every day, we will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your words to another and shall declare your mighty acts on the glorious splendor of your majesty and on your wondrous works, we will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds and we will declare your greatness.

They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful. Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all and His mercy is over all that he has made. All your work shall give thanks to you, oh Lord, and all your saints shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power to make known to children of man your mighty deeds.

The glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you and give them their food and due season. You open your hand. You satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.

The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. Click To Tweet

The Lord is near to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him. He also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked, he will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord and let all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever. Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God that is the fruit of the lips that acknowledged His name.

Our Father which art in heaven, holy and all-powerful Abba Father, we look to you for help. You are the one true source of redemption, power, comfort, encouragement, hope, and excellence in our lives. Please give us the wisdom to know your will and to choose your will for our lives. Thank you for being faithful throughout the ages of our lifetime. Thank you for protecting us through our comings and goings through danger seen and unseen.

Lord, we thank you for your grace and mercy, which continues daily to rest and shine upon us. We are grateful for your protection. Lord God, let us never forget all that you do for us on a daily basis. Sustain us with the hope of our salvation and the other countless blessings you provide with your continuous presence in our lives. Lead us to live our life and testimony to your incredible blessings that your love may be known and experienced by all those who serve you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Our Prayer of Confession from Acts 19:18. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Father God, today we come boldly to your throne to confess our sins to you and to pray for each other as we continue on this path of confession, forgiveness, and repentance.

Right now, I offer the opportunity for us to confess our sins and pray for each other silently. Father God, we confess our sins to you. We confess that at times, we don’t operate with a heart and a mindset of forgiveness. At times, we don’t extend this forgiveness to ourselves, to others, to our students, to our administrators, and to our co-workers, and many others.

Lord, we repent of this right now. We know that your word says, “If we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven.” Right now, we boldly confess that we need your help and intervention to forgive. We thank you for it right now in the mighty name of Jesus. Father God, at times, we don’t monitor our tongues. You said that the power of life and death lies in our tongues and those who love to talk will have to eat the fruit of it.

We confess that at times our tones are sharp. Our words are biting and at other times, we don’t speak what needs to be spoken. We repent of this right now, Father God. Guard our tongues and what flows from them as we submit ourselves to your will and to what you would have us to do and say bearing fruit that comes from you only. We are led by the Holy Spirit and speak true, lovely, loving, kind, patient, gentle, faithful, and self-controlled words only, Father God, and we are quick to repent when we make an error.

Father, at times, we allow our mindset to cause our judgment. We know that we are to be submitted to you, Father God, in every way on every day. Right now, we repent of wanting our will to be your will, of allowing things to stray us away from what you would have called us to do, and if not aligning ourselves with your way, your will, and your word. We are at times not seeking you and your kingdom first. Oh Lord, we repent of that right now, Father God. Thank you in advance for helping us to seek you more. In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.

Our Prayer of Thanksgiving. Father God, this evening we pray and thank you for your great gift of joy. The angels told the shepherds, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.” Lord God, we thank you for joy. We thank you for lasting joy. The lasting joy that we experience in your presence. You say in your word that his anger is but for a moment and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tear you for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

Lord God, thank you that sorrow and suffering pass but joy continues in spite of hardship. You promise us eternal joy that lasts forever. Lord, we thank you for satisfying joy. The joy that brings us true satisfaction, complete satisfaction. Lord, you say, “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.” You also say, “These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.”

Lord, we thank you for the ever-present joy. We thank you that when we look upon our students every day Lord, we experience your joy. When we share you with our colleagues at school, we experience your joy, and Father God, when we come to you in prayer, in your presence, we experience your joy. You say, “You make known to me the path of life.” In your presence, there is fullness of joy. At your right hand, our pleasure is forevermore.

Lord, we thank you for spirit-filled joy. No power of positive thinking can bring lasting joy. Instead, your joy is a supernatural work of your Holy Spirit in us. It characterizes us as your children. Thank you for that, Lord God. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.

Lord, we thank you for deliberate joy. You command us to be glad and rejoice and shout for joy. Joy is a deliberate act of obedience. Lord God, help us to be joyful because it’s a response to who you are and who we are in you. Lord, thank you for deliberate joy. You tell us, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Again, I will say, “Rejoice.” Lord, we thank you for sacrificial joy. We know that building our own kingdoms and following our own agendas may offer us temporary joy but not lasting joy.

Joy is a deliberate act of obedience to God. Click To Tweet

Lord help us to share lasting joy with our students. Building your kingdom and our schools Lord offers a special joy that cannot be replicated. In Luke 15, it says, “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” Just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance. Oh Father God, let us never hold back the joy that we have in you with others. Use us to share our testimonies, Lord. Use us to share your joy. We thank you for joy this evening, Lord God and it’s in your mighty name we pray this. Amen.

Prayer of Supplication. Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you to make our requests known as we bring our petitions and supplications to you. During this season, we often meditate on your word in Isaiah 9:6. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulder, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Lord, we recognize you as everlasting Father as we pray for each of the immigrant children who have come to our country.

Lord, please help the children who are lonely and may feel like they are being forced to learn a new language and new customs. We pray for those who may resent having to come here and they are missing their friends, their family members, and their former way of life. We may know specific children to which this applies and we have heard news reports about children who have come here without their parents. Lord, we cry out to you on their behalf.

We pray for protection, healing, comfort, for peace, for restoration of their childhoods, and for reunification with family members. Lord, we pray that you equip our schools and educators with the appropriate curriculum and teaching skills needed to smoothly integrate newcomers into our schools, especially the older children who have had interrupted or had no learning at all in their home countries.

Father, as educators, we usually teach the children who are with their families and we may rarely interact with those who come here and who are being exploited. Lord, we pray that the abomination of human trafficking will be exposed more and more in this land. Also, it would become so odious to our culture that it would be considered evil, just as the slave trade in our country’s past was finally looked on as a shameful practice and became abolished.

Lord, we recognize you as Prince of Peace, as we lift up the Jewish students who are experiencing fear, anxiety, depression, confusion, and humiliation because of threats, bullying, and attacks. We pray that you give them peace. We pray for the Jewish teachers and administrators who have been threatened or frightened by antisemitic students, fellow staff members, or supervisors. We pray that you give them peace.

Lord, we know that the enemy is behind the hatred and the anger that we are seeing in the actions and words of those who are shamelessly, boldly, verbally, and physically attacking people because they are Jewish. Lord, show us ways to show our love for Jewish people at school, in our neighborhoods, and in the marketplace. Show us how we can come alongside those who are being persecuted and discriminated against.

Lord, we thank you that we can have empathy for them as followers of your son because as we follow him, we are frequently misunderstood and sometimes mistreated. As your word instructs us, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Lord, we recognize you as a wonderful counselor as we pray for our mindsets and the posture of our hearts. We want our minds and our hearts focused on you and your will for our lives.

Ephesians 1:18-19 I ask that the eyes of your heart may 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. Click To Tweet

Lord, we pray that you search us, Oh God and that you know our hearts. You try us and know our anxieties and see if there are any wicked ways in us. Lead us in the way everlasting. Create in us a clean heart God and renew a steadfast Spirit within each of us. Finally, Lord, we recognize you as a mighty God as we pray for opportunities to share our faith during this Christmas season. During this time of year, when we put too much on our plates figuratively and literally, help us slow down and look at people.

Help us slow down and smile at people. Help us slow down and talk with people. Help us slow down and pray for people. We pray that you renew a steadfast spirit within each of us. Lord, do not cast us away from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation and sustain us with a willing spirit then we will teach wrongdoers your ways and sinners will be converted to you. In closing, I pray Ephesians 1:18-19. “I ask that the eyes of your heart may 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. Amen.