Psalm 13 reminds me that day in and day out, God is faithful. I may not always see it, and I need a reminder often that things do not always happen according to my timeline. David gives us a glimpse of how we can respond when we are in times of trouble and despair.

Psalm 13-NIV

A Prayer for Help in Trouble

13¹ [1]How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? ² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? ³ Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, ⁴ and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. ⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. ⁶ I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.

Takeaway:

Have you ever faced trouble like this that just seemed immovable? Teaching can often feel like this. Educators have so many responsibilities put on them each year and the lists seem to just be getting longer and longer with no real end in sight. We are the teacher, counselors, and parents in many cases to these students. It is so hard to be everything to everyone all the time. We just cannot sustain it. The enemy knows what powerful impact teachers can have on students. We see students roughly 30 hours per week. If the enemy can break us down, he will bring down those that we influence the most-our students.

Even though teaching is tough, the kids are tough, and the recognition is not there, He can see you working. He sees you working in the lives of the students that enter your classroom each day. He sees you putting in the late nights and the early hours making sure you can get the copies you need before school starts. Let’s trust in His unfailing love and know that he will not let us take on more than we can handle, and he will give us the strength to do His will. Keep, trusting, and changing lives.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

There are so many times in which we feel that we are alone in our work as educators. The responsibilities assigned to us each day seem so daunting it is hard to know where to begin sometimes. I know that our timeline is not your timeline. Grant me patience to know that I am doing Your will. I am in this school with these students for a reason. My gifts are needed here. Help me, Lord to have the energy to do the work that you have called me to do.

Give me a renewed sense of purpose knowing that I am serving Your children here on Earth. Help me to seek you when it becomes overwhelming. I know I cannot do it all on my own, even though I have tried to so many times. Be with my students this week. Grant them safety and help to give them peace and take away their anxiety as often comes with assignments and assessments. Stay near to us and help us to continue to do Your work. In Your name, I pray,

-Amen

Weekly Discussion Questions for Students:

• Where do you go when you just need time away from everything? What place can you think of that when you are there you do not have any cares in the world?
• What makes you anxious or worried about school?
• How do you overcome this anxiety? (Teacher could share some ideas as well. Exercise, healthy eating, good sleep, etc.)
• Do you have a trusted person with that you can talk when things are bothering you?
• What can I do here at school to make this classroom community a place where we can share our struggles?

Praise

•  Add in any praises that you have this week from your own personal life or that of your student’s or colleague’s lives

Requests

•  What do you need this week to thrive? Ask for those things to help you have the energy and capacity to do God’s will.

Want to Read More About Praying the Psalms Over Your Students?

If you missed the other posts on praying the Psalms over your students, you can find the links below or look on the right side of the page and click on this category to find them there as well. Please share with other teachers who might be interested as well! Note that these Psalms are not in numerical order, rather I have picked them out in this order based on my own experiences and that of the students and staff that I am working with.

• Psalm 1– Introduction on praying the Psalms over your students
• Psalm 2
• Psalm 5
• Psalm 8