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WHEN PRAYER GETS HARD, PRAY HARDER. A Lesson Learned in the School Hallways

  • Writer: Robert Leis
    Robert Leis
  • Jan 18
  • 5 min read

In August I took my daughter to Manhattan Christian College where she plans to work with both MCC and Kansas State to earn a degree in elementary education. My first thought was excitement for her future. As a strong Christian woman, I know she will fill her classroom with faith and compassion. She already has a record of working in a second-grade classroom during her senior year of high school. The students showered her with notes and care packages, showing they recognized her love for them. In her mind everything was mapped out for her future.


From my experience, however, I know it will not be easy. Leaving her at MCC was tough (made harder by Matthew West’s song Eighteen Summers), but we made it through. I admire her desire to follow in both my wife’s and my footsteps. We both spent over thirty-three years in education before retiring. My biggest concern for my daughter in becoming a teacher is that she will face many more challenges in the classroom than we did. 


When you step back and observe events in this world, it’s clear that the enemy is moving. He doesn’t want Christian educators to succeed, and my daughter’s future in education will be tough. She will be under constant pressure to abandon her faith, or at least be quiet. However, you know that silence is never the solution. I want to tell her that when she is told not to pray, she should pray even harder. Give each year over to the Lord, and have a daily time to pray for students, coworkers, and school leadership.


After eighteen years of being an elementary school principal, I quickly realized that things happened when I prayed. At first I expected light to fill the room and trumpets to sound when I prayed, signaling that something was happening. I thought everyone should  feel my prayers and everything should improve immediately. As most of you would expect, that didn't always happen. What I experienced very early in my tenure was  frustration increased. More students were sent to the office, and teachers were upset about what seemed like minor problems.  After a couple of weeks of this, I wanted to go home and hide. What was I doing wrong? Why was this all falling apart?


The final straw happened one night around eleven, a time when I felt in my heart that I needed to go to school and pray. I was even guided to pray specific Bible verses over the school. It’s hard enough to get up early or stay late to pray, but being called to leave my warm bed and head back to school was a little much. I can still remember everything that happened. I got ready to go to school and left, trudging through the ice and snow to start my car. When I arrived at school, I moved around the building in the dark, praying over each door and the adult behind it. I prayed for students in every grade level, hoping they would have a great day when they returned. I felt so excited about what I would see the next day that I had a hard time sleeping.


What happened the following day was an experience. Saying the bottom dropped out would be an understatement. It was like everything that could have happened did. When my prayer warrior wife asked what had happened at school and I told her, she laughed. Her response was, “Of course. The enemy is going to attack to stop that type of prayer.”


WHAT? Why didn’t she tell me that before I went to school in the middle of the previous night? I would have turned over and gone back to sleep. However, if I had done that, I would have missed the blessing the Lord would soon pour out over the school. I was determined to keep praying and decided that rather than giving up, I would find more time to pray. I was a runner, and since it was in the middle of winter, I started jogging down the hallway each night, praying. My wife and one of my teachers would walk through the building halls as well, and I asked her to pray for those in need as they passed. 


It was not uncommon for the Lord to tell me to go to school and pray after hours, sometimes after midnight. I did this repeatedly throughout the ten years I was there and then during the eight years I was at my next school.


  • When the enemy attacked, I prayed more fervently.

  • When a parent complained, I prayed for that parent from home.

  • When a student struggled with behavior, I prayed for that child.

  • When a staff member was hurting, I prayed for that person’s needs.

  • When I jogged the streets during my daily runs, I  prayed for the entire community.


When did I realize the prayers were working? It was not while I was in the middle of the fire. It became clear after I left the position. Behavior problems increased, challenges within the building began to rise, and staff members felt the difference. Why? I truly feel it was because the prayer cover had left. We often do not realize the impact of our prayer cover until we are out of a situation. Phillip Anthony Mitchell, in a sermon I heard today, stated, “You never know what is on the other side of one act of obedience. God doesn’t tell you the whole story; He just tells you to do it.” 


So, what I leave you with is this: pray. When you don’t feel like it is working, pray. When you want to ignore the guidance, pray. Follow the Lord’s direction and pray for your students each day. Form a small group to take turns walking around the building in the morning, praying for the day.


After leaving my last position, I retired. However, I have continued to pray for everyone left behind. Whenever I have the opportunity, I pray that they are blessed. No, this is not because my prayers made everything perfect but because the Lord has asked me to do so. Maybe someday I will see what really happened and understand why I was asked to pray. Until then I will remain obedient and continue calling out to the Lord to pour out His blessings. 

 

Robert Leis is a recently retired lifelong educator currently living in Wichita, Kansas.  He is also an author of the books listed below.  Check them out on Amazon!  


·       When Warriors Stand

·       Steadfast Love, The Escape

·       Saving Grace, Surviving the Fire

·       Down the River

·       Steadfast Love, Royal Encounter

·       The Final Trumpet       


                                                                                                             

Scripture Verses on Prayer

  • 1 Thessalonians 5:17 – “Pray without ceasing.”

  • James 5:16 – “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

  • Ephesians 6:18 – “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”

  • Philippians 4:6–7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition…present your requests to God.”

  • 2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray…”

  • Matthew 18:20 – “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

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