How the Lord’s Prayer Transforms Your Classroom

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Everyone wants to be appreciated for what they do. Teachers and students alike want to be recognized for a job well done. And they should be. But what is the ultimate goal for the child of God? Psalm 29:2 says, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.” Our first thought and goal should be to bring God glory—he should be the one to whom we seek to give praise. Do we encourage our students to glorify God by doing their personal best? We can model this for them and teach them to praise God for the skills and gifts he gives each one of us, even if it’s just neat handwriting or the ability to compute math facts quickly.

Your kingdom come.

What would a kingdom-reflecting classroom be like? Is my classroom a place where truth and grace are combined? Where discipline is tempered by love and mercy? Do I reflect Christ to my students? The atmosphere in our classrooms should be one of joyfulness and loving-kindness toward one another. Thankfulness and graciousness should be modeled and expected of students. In dealing with disciplinary issues, we should be careful to consider and exemplify the gentle character of Christ. We need to remind ourselves that we all, teachers and students alike, are of equal worth in God’s eyes. Do I respect my students as much as I expect them to respect me?

Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

The last part of that phrase is the one that most challenges me. Can you imagine the heavenly image of God on his throne saying, “I need someone to . . .” and 10 million hands shooting up with calls of “Me! Let me!” I need to have the heart of an eager, devoted servant when it comes to fulfilling my responsibilities of teaching my students and communicating with their families. Students should be taught not only to do their personal best for the glory of the Lord, but also to do so joyfully and eagerly.