And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20
“To educate a person in the mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
Main Prayer Focus of the Week:
- That there will be a new understanding of education as a part of the Great Commission.
- That the teaching ministry of the Church will be restored
- Envisioning: To pray for fresh vision for the churches and individuals that are called to this mountain
- Spiritual Warfare: To wage war against the hordes of hell that are confusing the church and resisting her advance on this mountain
- Recommitment to the Great Commission in Education
OVERVIEW OF THE WEEK’S THEME
Education began in a perfect environment, the Garden of Eden. The Teacher was perfect, so were the students and the classroom. The students had been given the charge to multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Together with that they were given all authority over creation. Adam the first student was to educate his wife, Eve, about the garden and all it contained. Together they would educate their children about the management of creation, and God’s plan to fill the whole earth with sons and daughters who loved and honored Him. As a result the whole earth would be filled with the glory of God. However, judging from the conversation Eve had with the serpent, it is apparent that Adam did not do his teaching assignment well. Soon both of the students broke the rules, and the Teacher threw them out of the classroom. From then on the classroom became imperfect and all students were prone to break rules. The need for education did not end with the fall though the potential for wrong education multiplied as the devil became the god of the world system. The Teacher however remained perfect, and provided a way for his students to be restored.
When the Teacher completed his work of redemption, He repeated the original charge to “go into the whole world” and teach the nations His ways. This time the charge was given to another set of students: His disciples. It was like the “pause” button that had been pressed at the fall of man was now released to complete the original mission of filling the earth and subduing it. At the heart of the Great Commission is the command to teach the nations to observe all that He commanded. This forms the bedrock for any education system aligned to the Kingdom of God. Its philosophy must be based on the teachings of Jesus.
INSTITUTIONS PRAYER FOCUS FOR WEEK ONE
Pray for these institutions using the prayer guidelines in Chapter 1:
- Church pastors and elders
- Youth leaders
- Sunday school teachers
- Church founded schools
- Marketplace ministers
- All those with the spiritual gift of teaching
MARKET PLACE FOCUS FOR WEEK ONE
- Nehemiah prayed:
Nehemiah 4 vs 4, 9, 16, 17, 22, 23 (prayer was foundational in his response)
- Pray for the leaders that God is raising in your sector of the market place and for yourself that there will be a deeper commitment to prayer in dealing with the onslaught of the enemy.
- Pray for the raising more prayer altars in your sector and for the strengthening of the ones that exist.
