Lord, we pray for all those Christian teachers who are struggling with their work; who feel called to serve You in education and want to honour this calling but who now cry out for Your help.

Lord, we lift to You those teachers who struggle daily with pupil indiscipline; who feel close to breaking point; who cannot cope any longer with the verbal threats and physical abuse they face.

We pray for all those teachers who dread the prospect of facing this class on a Monday morning or that pupil on a Friday afternoon; for whom each day is a waking nightmare … followed, each night, by worry and insomnia in a seemingly unending cycle of fear … and stress … and guilt.

Lord, we lift to You those teachers who are burdened by bureaucracy and worn down by excessive workload; who admit to feeling browbeaten and demotivated; who are unable to keep up with ever increasing mountains of paperwork.

We pray for all those teachers for whom there never seem to be enough hours in the day; who spend most evenings marking and record keeping and much of each weekend planning and preparing for the week ahead; for whom mental exhaustion and spiritual dryness is a term-time way of life, and physical and mental breakdown is an ever present threat.

Lord, we pray that ALL teachers might be given the support they require:

from colleagues at school;

from governors and parents;

from union and local authority officials;

from their church;

from You, Almighty and Everlasting God.

Lord, by Your Holy Spirit, we ask You to empower and energise each and every Christian teacher in their calling to serve You.  Strengthen and protect them; bless and enable them so they might be “salt” and “light” to the communities they serve.
Amen

prayer submitted by Vik Sekasi, Furness Network Youth Minister