Pray Today - Pass Tomorrow?

So long as students have to take exams, there will always be prayer in our schools. But how effective are those prayers? And what if a special written prayer could reduce stress, bring calmness, and help a student focus during the hours of an exam? Would it help the student to pass the test?

The Church of England has come with a novel idea of internet prayers for high school, college, and university students to recite before they enter exam rooms. The prayers are also available for teachers who tend to worry about their students during exams. After all, the outcome of the final grades is also used to measure the effectiveness of a teacher’s ability.

The Rev Janina Ainsworth, chief education officer for the Church of England has stated that the prayers were initially written for student gatherings or school assemblies. With a little tweaking, the prayers could be altered to suit an individual’s needs.

Leaving prayer to the last minute is more like wishful thinking, but taking time to sit down and really pray may help stressed out students calm down and give themselves a better opportunity of making their grades. The peace that passes all understanding may soon become the peace that passes every testing.

The prayers can be found at www.cofe.anglican.org/prayers

Teachers

Audio version here ... or here

Psalm 119:99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. (NIV)

There’s an old joke from Scotland about a wee boy who comes back from his first day of school. His mom asks him how it went and he answers: “It was okay, but I don’t need to go back. The teacher told me she can’t teach me anything.”

Our teachers went back to school this week hoping that the young hearts and minds in their classes will be open to instruction and lessons. My wife is the best teacher that I know. She prepares hours of work for the classroom each day. Throughout the summer, she was poring over new textbooks and writing out exercises for the children. Every weekend, she brings home a whole bunch of papers to grade and new textbooks to read.

Like most other teachers, she’s devoted to the well-being and education of the children under her care. She teaches in public school which has many pressures attached to the job. Her life is invested in the future success of her students. Some of them don’t realize this, of course; but many of them are truly thankful to her when she meets them years later. It always amazes and pleases me when former students come up to her to thank Evelyn for the one year of fifth grade that she taught them. For most of them, it’s a turning point in their lives.

I’ve always been thankful for my teachers. I wouldn’t be where I am today without their gifts of instruction. I’m also thankful that the greatest teacher in my life is also the Son of God. His words and ways influence the challenges and choices that I face each day. His lessons of life confront my selfish and foolish deeds. His teaching is a turning point in my life each day. I may not be perfect and holy. I still say and do stupid things, but Christ’s patient and forgiving nature teaches me a lot about faith and helps me through each day.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Great Teacher of life, the universe, and everything. We thank You for Your words and stories, Your parables and lessons that show us what life is all about. We also pray for the teachers in our schools whose devotion to their profession changes young lives. Bless them for their gifts and skills, their patience and hard work. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.