Are you feeling like you just need one more cup of coffee, a perfect night's sleep, or an extra day off? Teachers everywhere can fall into the trap of thinking they can power through stress by pushing themselves harder. What if the key to feeling recharged isn't just about squeezing more into your already overflowing plate? Maybe God has a different strategy in mind. In today's Prayercast, let's pray for those who are hurting from life challenges and grieving the loss of loved ones to find comfort and strength from God. Trusting in his grace and allowing ourselves to rest can be the key to feeling truly invigorated. Forget just adding to your plate; what if God's plan involves a different kind of productivity, one fueled by his power?

Think of each and every child in your classroom: what piece of God’s heart sits there as the children take their seats? Seeing children as pieces of God’s heart is such a powerful and humbling vision. The call to teach is a sacred calling, and this sacredness flows from the connection our gift has to children. God cherishes His children, and in caring for them, we care for Him. As we ground our classrooms in the priceless value of His children, let us also be reminded of our own eternal value. We have been blessed with the vocation to teach God’s children, and this is an invitation to partner with God in a miraculous way! How dearly God must love us to entrust us with His precious children! As you support each student in their specific areas of need, be reminded that you are not just serving “the least of these”—you are ministering to God Himself.

Please join Teachers Who Pray (TWP) as we continue to pray intentional prayers for teachers.

Using the Adoration Confession Thanksgiving Supplication (ACTS) Prayer Model, this week's Supplication prayers will focus on teachers and assistants who serve special needs students and the needs of the receptionists at the front desk and security at the front door.

Waiting is probably more frustrating than receiving a clear, firm “no” from God because you can cry about a no for a time and begin the healing process toward closure. The key to waiting well is to realize that God knows best and constantly affirm his good intentions in your mind and heart. That becomes hard when we get stuck rooting for what we want and leave little to no room for God to be sovereign in the situation. Join us in this episode as we pray for success in EOY Testing, strength and perseverance for schools under state control, and the overall improvement of children’s academics. Yielding our will to God is certainly a spiritual discipline! So have faith—not just in what you want but in God’s best judgment.

So often we dwell on the past and worry about the future. Each day has promise and opportunity that is made up of moments. Remember to take some time to be present in the here and now. Everything that happens today is important, so enjoy the journey of the next 24 hours and know that God has a role for you to play in His master plan. Maybe this day holds some challenges and trials. Don’t let them rob you of the joy and delight that is now. Even if today is a tough day, praise God for being alive! Rejoice and be glad in God’s gift of today and cherish each moment He has given you.

Every day. Every day, you walk through the doors of the school and into your classroom. You walk in with your dreams, disillusionment, joys, and heartaches. You hug your students at the door; you see your colleagues in a meeting; you connect with parents after school. You walk past people in your school each day and wonder if anyone sees you. The real you. The you that is hurting; the you that is processing; the you that is trying—with everything in your soul, trying. You may be wishing for someone at school to truly see you, or you may be desperately trying to hide your true self from others because you actually feel too broken to teach. But you cannot hide from God. No one is invisible to Him. God saw you before you were born; God saw the path of your life; God sees you now in this moment. And God sees all of you—your beauty and your pain. Let Him meet you exactly where you are. He put His light in you and He wants to help you let it shine! (Matthew 5:14-16)

A teacher sits at his/her desk at the end of the day. It is one of those days that didn’t go according to plan. Nothing seems to go right. We often write these days off as a loss, but God, through His grace and mercy, can redeem them. There is no such thing as a lost day if we take time to see it through the lens of thankfulness. Instead of focusing on what went wrong, reflect on what went right. It may be a small celebration or a triumphant victory. Start a gratitude journal to record these nuggets from the Lord; it will serve as an encouragement to you and a praise to God. Never leave school defeated; instead, be inspired by how God is working in and through you. Before you know it, you’ll see your students’ growth exceeding your expectations—and theirs. That’s how God redeems the time!

If God had His way with your schedule, what would your day look like? What would be included? What would be omitted? God has an ordained plan for each day of your life that He wants to reveal to you. Unfortunately, we often get caught up in the “busyness” and challenges of the day and miss that quiet whisper of God telling us to slow down or shift our plans. To hear from the Lord, we need to create space in our day to listen for His voice. We need to be still so we can experience His presence in the midst of the countless decisions we make about our time each day. If we truly want to make the most of our time, we need to give time with God top priority in our schedules.

Greetings!

Time management is a phrase that produces an emotional response in teachers. We struggle with feelings of guilt and wrestle with tension between our work and personal lives.

Can we really manage time? Let’s face it, time moves on no matter what we do. We can’t make it slow down, go faster, or stop.

At the beginning of the school year, we look ahead and think that we have all the time we need to accomplish great things with our students. In the spring, we see that time is of the essence and we are running out of this valuable resource. We ask ourselves if we have done enough. We wonder if we have impacted our students in a way that will make a difference.

Instead of worrying about what we did or did not do, we can find comfort if we know that all of our work was done as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:17, 23). We have no choice but to offer our best work if we are dedicating our work to Christ. It may not be perfect, but even with our best efforts, it’s God who makes our work effective (1 Corinthians 3:6). (O Heart, Vigilant and Sincere: A Prayer Guide Written for Teachers, by Teachers Volume 1, Teachers Who Pray, Inc.)

Please join Teachers Who Pray TWP as we continue to pray intentional prayers for teachers.

Using the Adoration Confession Thanksgiving Supplication (ACTS) Prayer Model, this week's Supplication prayer will focus on report card conferences and discussions about student retention going well.

Please join Teachers Who Pray in implementing our Prayer Power for 15 minutes (1% of your daily minutes) for teachers on the Weekly Monday Evening Prayer Call 7-7:15 pm, CT.