A Prayer for Ordinary School Days

God of miracles, God of the unusual and unexpected, and God of the extraordinary,

You are also a God of my ordinary days.

Thank You that You are present in the mundane. Thank You that no happening is too small for You to notice. Thank You that You care about the routine and regular moments that make up my life.

You are the God who provides through miraculous bread from heaven, but you are also the God who provides through the fruit of the land, present in every regular cycle of sowing and reaping.

You are shown in power, might, and glory; but You are also seen in faithfulness, silence, and quiet service. 

Help me not to seek only the sensational outpourings of Your presence and thereby miss You in all the undramatic ways You show up for me—moment by moment, day by day.

I confess that I don’t often remember to see You in the ordinary. I have become accustomed to Your faithful provision, and I forget to be grateful.

As I enter my classroom today, may my senses be tuned to the ordinary. May the smell of pencil shavings and chalk dust, the sight of raised hands and curious faces, and the sounds of pages turning and erasers rubbing ignite in me a gratitude for these ordinary miracles.

You are the God of sparrows and lilies, who counts every hair on my head. Remind me that You call me not to despise the day of small things.

Help me to see Your image in the students who walk through my door, Your creativity in the questions their minds conceive, and Your equipping in the strength I receive to complete my daily tasks.

Help me to be faithful in the grading of papers and the preparing of lessons. Make me aware of your presence with me in every heartbeat and every breath.

Help me to come to you with a posture of worship in each and every ordinary moment today.

Your everyday presence is a gift.

Thank You.

Amen.

Photo by Kim Leary on Unsplash