About this ebook
Teaching asks for everything: your patience, your attention, your creativity, your care. Much of it disappears into the day without a trace you can point to. It is holy work and it is heavy work, and the two are not a contradiction.
The Teacher's Daily Prayer Book is a companion for the whole of it. Fifty-seven prayers follow the real shape of a teacher's life, from the quiet minutes before the bell to the drive home when you are still carrying the day. Each entry is short enough for the moment you actually have: a brief reflection that names where you are, a prayer you can pray as it stands, a verse of Scripture to anchor it, and a single line to carry with you into the hours ahead.
Inside you will find prayers for:
The daily rhythm: the morning offering, the midday pause, the difficult afternoon, the emptying room
The arc of the school year: the first day, the long middle stretch, exams, grading season, the last goodbye
Patience, when it runs thin, and grace to begin again after the day you lost your temper
Wisdom in discipline, in difficult decisions, and in knowing when to speak and when to listen
Your students: the one who is struggling, the one who is gifted, the one who sits alone, the one who has given up
Your own heart: feeling unappreciated, doubting the calling, exhaustion, burnout, and the gratitude that returns
Parents, colleagues, administrators, and the new teacher finding their way
Seasonal and special occasions, including times of crisis and loss
It closes with a teacher's prayer of dedication, a treasury of Scripture verses for the classroom, and blessings to speak over yourself, over your students, and over the day.
Keep it on your desk, in your bag, or in the car. Open it before the bell, at lunch, or on the way home. You do not need the right words, and you do not carry this work alone.
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible. Written for teachers of every grade and subject, and a thoughtful gift for a first-year teacher, a retiring colleague, Teacher Appreciation Week, or the start of a new term.
