For A Parent of Children, Youth
Our Father in heaven, thank you for gifting me with children. Guide me as I teach them (him, her) to trust and to risk, to respect and to challenge, to think and to wonder, to know and to love you. Let me not rob them of their childhood journey, but value their inquisitive minds as they explore and create in self-discovery. They are not a carbon copy of me, but are made in your image as loveable and capable beings with their own gifts and dreams. Support me as I exercise virtuous living, practice what I teach, and explain what I practice. Let me not betray their trust nor dampen their hopes. Help me to be a faithful, patient teacher. Through Jesus Christ, who came among us as a child, I offer my prayer to you. Amen.

For Education
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom: Enlighten by your Holy Spirit those who teach and those who learn, that, rejoicing in the knowledge of your truth, they may worship you and serve you from generation to generation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Book of Common Prayer, 261

For the Will to Grow and Learn
O Jesus Christ, Teacher Divine, continue to grace me with the desire for learning. Grant me the wisdom to embrace new ways to grow and to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit as I seek to continue to mature into your likeness and purpose. May I be open to learning as long as I live; and prepare me for the life which is to come. Amen.

Lessons of the Day

Isaiah 6:1-13 The Call of Isaiah
Luke 5:1-11 The Call of Simon Peter, James & John

Additional Scripture Passages

• Jacob wrestles with the angel Gen 32:24-30
• Samuel and Eli in the temple 1Sam 3:1-11
• Jonah learns about God's mercy Jonah 1-4
• Daniel reveals the true God to King Nebuchadnezzar Dan 5:5-30
• Ezra reads the law to the people Neh 8:1-12
• Canticle 22 A Song of Wisdom - Supplemental Liturgical Texts
• Canticle 23 A Song of Pilgrimage - Supplemental Liturgical Texts
  Jesus as a youth among the teachers in the temple Luke 2:41-52
• The rich ruler asks a question Luke 18:18-25
• Jesus with Martha and Mary Luke 10:38-42
• Jesus learns from the Syrophonenician woman Mark 7:24-30
• Nicodemus wonders about being born again John 3:1-10
• The Ethiopian Eunuch and Philip Acts 8:26-40
• The Great Commission Matthew 28:18-20

Collects and Prayers - Book of Common Prayer (BCP)

• Collect for Education p.261
• Collect of a theologian and teacher p.248
• Collect for all baptized Christians p.252
• A prayer for self-dedication p.832
• Commission church school teachers and other Christian educators using The Book of Occasional Services p. 181
• Renew the Baptismal Covenant
• In the Prayers of the People, remember all teachers of religious educationand those seeking deeper knowledge of God
• See also full text of the Additional Prayers (below)

Hymns - The Hymnal 1982

• 528 Lord, you give the great commission
• 549, 550 Jesus calls us; o'er the tumult
• 566 From thee all skill and science flow
• 584 God, you have given us power
• 422 Not far beyond the sea
• 585 Morning glory, starlit sky
• 629 We limit not the truth of God
• 518 Christ is made the sure foundation
• 488 Be thou my vision
• 516 Come down, O Love divine
• 654 Day by day
• 677 God moves in a mysterious way
• 689 I sought the Lord
• 385 Many and great, O God, are thy works
• 530 Spread, O spread, thou mighty word

The Call of a Christian Educator

The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens — wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. Isaiah 50:4

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, Ephesians 4:11

A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. Luke 6:40

We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. Romans 12: 6-8

An educated person knows many things, and one with much experience knows what he is talking about. Ecclesiasticus 34:9

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Luke 2:46

A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. Luke 6:40

And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. I Corinthians 12:28

Additional Prayers

Prayers for Educators
Collect for Education
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom: Enlighten by your Holy Spirit those who teach and those who learn that, rejoicing in the knowledge of your truth, they may worship you and serve you from generation to generation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
1979 Book of Common Prayer, 209 (contemporary version: BCP 261)

Prayer For Educational Institutions
Eternal God, bless all schools, colleges, and universities, especially __________, that they may be lively centers for sound learning, new discovery, and the pursuit of wisdom; and grant that those who teach and those who learn may find you to be the source of all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
1979 Book of Common Prayer, 824

Prayer For Knowledge and Strength
Give me O Lord, I pray Thee firm faith, unwavering hope ,perfect charity. Pour into my heart the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and spiritual strength, the Spirit of knowledge and true godliness and the Spirit of Thy holy fear. Light eternal, shine in my heart. Power eternal, deliver me from evil. Wisdom eternal, scatter the darkness of my ignorance. Might eternal, pity me. Grant that I may ever seek Thy face with all my heart and soul and strength; and, in thine infinite mercy, bring me at last to Thy holy presence where I shall behold Thy glory and possess Thy promised joys.
St. Alcuin of York (735-804), LFF May 20

Prayer For Knowledge of God's Creation
Almighty and everlasting God, You made the universe with all its marvelous order, its atoms, worlds, and galaxies, and the infinite complexity of living creatures: Grant that, as we probe the mysteries of your creation, we may come to know you more truly, and more surely fulfill our role in your eternal purpose; in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
1979 Book of Common Prayer, 827

Prayer For a Willingness to Serve Others
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), LFF October 4
Book of Common Prayer 833

Prayer For Wisdom and Understanding
Teach me, O my Lord Jesus, instruct me that I may learn from Thee what I ought to teach concerning thee.

Anglican Archbishop William Laud (1573-1645), LFF January 10