I hope you have enjoyed the last few posts about praying the Psalms over your students. If you missed the first one, click here to check it out. I have found that as I concentrate on one Psalm each week, I can stay in tune with the students and staff that I work with. This week, we will focus on Psalm 8, which is a Psalm of praise and a reminder as to our role while we are here.
Psalm 8- NIV
God’s Glory and Man’s Honor
81 [1][2]Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. 2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?[3] 5 You have made them[4] a little lower than the angels[5]and crowned them[4] with glory and honor. 6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their[7] feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, 8 the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Takeaway:
After reading this Psalm and going outside even for just a few moments, I can see God’s hand in all of creation around me. Everything works together so well, and everything was made for a purpose. Praising God for his creation and the realization of just how small we are should make us take a step back on how we run our lives. Are we tending to God’s creation and helping to make all things new or are we living this life for our gain? I know for me that I struggle with this often. Psalm 8 is a great reminder to us that we should model this sort of praise for our students and our own families each day.
Prayer:
Creator of Heaven and Earth,
We thank you, Lord, for the gift of your creation. How wonderful it is to see your handiwork in everything that surrounds us, including ourselves. You brought my students and me together this year for a reason. I pray that I can model what it is to be a good steward of Your creation. Keep me humble, Lord, and help me to remember that You are the vine, and we are the branches. Apart from you, we can do nothing. Let my students see you at work in their lives this week. Keep my students safe and healthy as we go about our week. Be with us in our times of trouble and give us peace and guidance for decisions we need to make. In Your name, I pray.
-Amen
Weekly Discussion Questions for Students:
- What in nature makes you stop and just be amazed?
- Where is a place that you would like to visit that has some awesome animals or natural features?
- How can we be good stewards of our small part of the Earth? What about in our school and home communities?
- How can we be a good role model to younger students on how to take care of our school?
- How do our actions influence others? Either good or bad?
Praise
- Write down any personal praises or some from school this week.
Requests
- What has been a struggle for you or your students this week? How could you support your students or provide support?
Please feel free to share this resource with other teachers and comment on what God is doing in your classroom as you have been praying these Psalms over your students.