This article was originally written for and published in Lightlines, a magazine for Christian day schools published by Christian Light Publications.
30. And, behold, two blind men sitting by the wayside, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
31. And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
32. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?
33. They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.
Jesus knew exactly what the blind men wanted–it was incredibly obvious. The whole crowd knew. He simply wanted the blind men to ask.
When we ask God for something, we are humbly presenting ourselves and our requests to an all-knowing, all-powerful Father who not only already knows what our requests are, but knows if we really need them answered, and if it would be in our best interests to grant our requests.
As teachers, we spend our days dealing with learning difficulties, attitudes, frustrations, competition, arrogance, selfishness, laziness, cowardice, cheating, and more. We desperately need to ask for wisdom in handling all of these gracefully and in a way that is pleasing to God. Multiple times a day, we face situations in which we should ask God for wisdom and discernment in dealing with our students and at times, their parents.
When we do face challenging situations, or even minor mishaps that we would rather not have to encounter, it helps to remember that our end goal is that our students grow in the areas of academics and character. The latter is tougher work, but that is God’s goal for each of our students as well, and it pleases Him when we ask for His help in accomplishing this significant task.
There are a great many examples in Scripture of people who humbly asked. The persistent Gentile woman in Matthew 15 asked Jesus to heal her daughter three different times. Jairus asked Jesus to heal his daughter, and a few verses later even the demons asked Jesus if they could enter into the swine. All of their requests were granted, as were numerous others from Scripture. Many of ours will be as well if we will just ask.
What would our classrooms be like, if every time something irritated us even in the slightest way, we quickly asked God for wisdom in handling it?
Presenting our requests to God on behalf of our students is an incredible way to tangibly invest in their lives. Besides praying in our prayer closets, we can offer a “popcorn” prayer as Nehemiah did when he stood before the king offering him the cup. Nehemiah 2:4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5. And I said unto the king, . . . .
We also have the opportunity to lead out in prayer with our students every morning, thanking God, making requests, and committing the day and our safety to Him. We can share with our students when prayers have been answered. This will hopefully encourage them to get into the habit of asking God for help as well.
Asking seems so simple, yet it is so Biblical. God desires that we ask Him for what we need to do our jobs effectively, just as He expected the blind men to ask to see.
Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
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Spontaneity Part I: Genuine Spontaneity (Read the story at the end.)