As we recognize this approaching back to school time of the year, there are many ways that we can pray for and support in our prayers those who will be learning and those who will be part of a learning environment. God gives us lifelong opportunities to be learning. It is wise to understand that we are not ever intended to stop learning. In the wideness of our world and in the immensity of our God, there is always more to learn. Prayer is a key practice in order for us to be well positioned to learn from God. We can come to God in humble prayer and acknowledge what we do not know and have yet to learn. In prayer, we can choose to trust God to reveal to us and to teach us in personal ways the magnitude of Who God is and who are we. In Scripture we read, “Let the wise listen and add to their learning and let the discerning get guidance.” (Proverbs 1:5) Faithful prayer and recognition of God through prayer has us listening and adding to our learning and also receiving guidance and understanding that only God can provide. It will again be our privilege this week to pray for each other and to pray for us in apprehending lessons of faith that God wants to teach us. Please pause with us for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow August 30th at 1 pm.
Thankful that we have God as our loving Teacher and that there is so much we can learn from our God, Pastor Lola
Our God thank You for these summer months and what we have had to learn from You in times of work and play and rest and relaxation. Thank You for all the lessons of Your mercy and grace displayed in the world around us. We see the beauty and intricacy of what You God have created. There has been pleasure in enjoying Your Presence with us always and reminders of Your love displayed everywhere. We want to keep listening for You in the stillness of the breeze. We want to be led by You to the quiet places where our souls are restored. And even as this summer has provided the chance to know You more, we want this journey of learning from You to continue into the months ahead. This is why we choose to listen for You our LORD. In thinking about learning, we want to come to You now to pray for all those who will be getting ready for back to school. For some very young ones, this will be their first time in a classroom and there will be so many lessons ahead of them. We pray for those who may be feeling anxious about this, both Junior Kindergarten students and their parents. In entering this new world of learning we pray that You will guide and help each family. We pray for teachers preparing for another school year. Please equip them well to teach with compassion in their hearts for their students and the unique needs of each student. For those who are looking forward to going back to school, we pray Your blessing. For those not looking forward to going back to school, we also pray your blessing. For those feeling uncertain about building friendships at school we pray for Your help. We are asking Lord for students, teachers, school counsellors, and all education workers to participate in building an atmosphere of caring. We know the reality of bullying and the damage it creates. For some students, they will be dreading going back to school because school has not been a positive experience for them. We pray that this school year can be a new beginning. We pray for school administration and parents to work together to build safe and respectful environments for learning. We also know that there are those who do not find school motivating and worthwhile and this challenges them in their learning. We bring all of this to You God and pray for positive learning possibilities for those we know and those we don’t know who will be returning to school. In our prayers we also pray for bus drivers and crossing guards and school secretaries and volunteers in the classrooms and school cleaning staff. Everyone contributes to the possibilities for learning and we ask that each one will feel important in their contributions. And our God we know that for all of us there are things for us to keep learning so we pray that we will keep listening for You and that we will have discernment that only You can give us for the guidance we need each day. Thank You God for taking time to teach us and making it possible for us to learn from You. Please show us how to apply what You teach us. We depend on You in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.