Some have started back, some are just a few days away and others still have some time, but educators, it's time to pray! Prayer is truly the educator's greatest tool. Prayer is love in need appealing to Love in power. What a privilege it is to have an audience with the Great Creator! He numbers the hairs on our heads. He's purposed us to be educators and He is concerned about all the details in your school life. Praying now and throughout the school year is essential to the success of your classroom, your school environment and school community.
In the public schools we often wonder if we can pray and then if so how? As long as there are tests in school, there will be prayer! Amen? I've entitled this post: Prayer, posture and practicalities to address how and when to pray in school legally and gracefully.
Here are just a few suggestions:
Prayer:
What are some legal and graceful ways to pray in the public schools?
- Join our new Facebook private group: CEAI Christian Educators Prayer & Encouragement where you can engage in prayer with your brothers and sisters across the nation and get ideas for prayer and praise reports.
- Sign up for the 1:16 PM prayer prompts. Christian educators across the nation pause and pray at exactly 1:16PM each school day (Romans 1:16) www.one16pray.com
- Start 1st steps prayers - Each day you arrive on campus and begin your walk to enter the building, pray instead of worrying and planning.
- Chair prayers - sit in the seat of each of your students before they come to school and pray for them by name. This may take the whole year!
- Prayer walking - Get a partner and begin prayerwalking every hall in your school. As you walk and talk (pray) others will think you are on a wellness kick. (Yes, the great wellness plan available - prayer!)
- Form a prayer group at your school. They can be called anything you like: encouragement groups, LIFT groups, fellowship groups, but we need to gather on a regular basis to pray on campus. These groups must be before or after contract time.
- Consider forming a Prayer Triplet group where 3 gather to pray. For more details, see www.tinyurl.com/prayertriplets
- Learn to pray scripture. You know you are praying in God's will when you are praying His will.
- Join us on Around the Word in 180 Days (beginning August 12, 2019) where we will be praying a scripture daily in a portion of the podcast called "There's A Word For That!"
Posture:
What posture of prayer can I have during the school day?
- You can pray with your eyes open! God is always listening. When you are praying the 1:16PM prayer you go about your daily tasks pausing and praying momentarily. To be discreet, you don't bow your head or fall to your knees.
- Prayer walk (with your eyes open, please!)
- Come in early each day and bow your head in your classroom privately. If you are able, you can kneel in your classroom or sit at your desk.
- Pray in your doorway and anoint the threshold with oil.
- Join others in prayer with your heads bowed in a pray group before or after school.
Practicalities:
Is it really practical to pray during the school day?
- What seems impossible, is possible! Prayer in school is private and can be said throughout the day as needed.
- Praying at 1:16PM seems impossible, yet it's quite practical. Set an alarm and as you move toward the alarm to release it, pause and pray quietly in your mind and then return immediately to what you are doing. The best part is that you are joining your brothers and sisters in the public schools across the nation. There are hundreds of us praying, but there are thousands of us in the public schools. Let's pray!
- Set a time for your prayer group before or after school. Not everyone will be able to come. It not practical. Gather those who come and pray with hands held or not, eyes closed or not for those who could not come and your whole school community.
- Listen to Around the Word in 180 Days in your car through our CEAI app on your ride to school. Yes, keep your eyes open!
Many more suggestions and ideas will be shared throughout the 2019-2020 school year on our podcast: Around the Word in 180 Days. Remember, prayer is the educator's greatest tool! Be a blessing this new school year.
As always, I am
Prayerfully yours,
K
PS. Don’t forget to spread the word about the 1:16PM Prayer Movement and Around the Word in 180 Days:
• Visit, "like", and add comments the 1:16PM Facebook page and the Around the World in 180 days Facebook page.
• Follow us on Twitter for the prayer prompts @one16pray
May God bless you with success His way this 2019-2020 school year.
Note: To more fully understand the 16-9 Movement, please read the first blog entry by clicking here.
Christian Educators Association International is the only professional association in the United States specifically for Christian educators in public schools. CEAI protects our members first in prayer, next with excellent professional liability insurance and other benefits while helping them live out their high calling as a Christian in the public school.
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