Prayerful Planning

Let's have a conversation about Prayerful Planning.

As a pre-service teacher (entering into my third of three practicums), I have been “in the game” for all of three semesters so far. However, having spent three years in full-time youth ministry, I discovered that prayerful planning is not only in the job description, if you’re doing it right it is the job description.

As I sit here reflecting on my second practicum and thinking about planning for my third, I am brought back to my youth ministry planning days. I am reminded of heading to the chapel for a few minutes prior to starting my plans, or just saying a quick prayer asking the Holy Spirit to guide me. With these youth ministry planning memories in mind, I am now thinking about how this translates to Catholic Education. I want to know where those two worlds intersect and what you are doing to prayerfully plan in your classroom or youth ministry setting.

The obvious arena for prayerful planning is within the context of a Religious Education classroom. One could view both the Religious Education curriculum and the act of planning for it as a prayer. But are our hearts really in it? Are we truly going before the throne of God asking him where he’d like us to take things or how he’d like us to present the information required?

Now, the not so obvious arena for prayerful planning is in every other subject area. I can’t help but wonder how many teachers plan with a prayerful surrender to the direction of God (within the guides of the curriculum of course). If you do, how do you do it? I am well aware of how busy the lives of teachers are. I am also aware that not all schools are attached to a parish, or have a Blessed Sacrament chapel within them. Additionally, I am aware that not every teacher has the time to go to the chapel or spend a day discerning the direction of the course they are teaching. However, I do know that every teacher has the ability to say a quick prayer before getting down to planning. 

Let’s Have a Conversation
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Here are some primer questions. Let’s have a conversation about prayerful planning. Please comment below.

What do you teach and how do you incorporate prayer into the planning process?
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Is prayerful planning a new idea for you?

What strategies do you use to involve the Holy Spirit in your planning?

Beyond lesson planning, how do you incorporate prayer into your days as you prep to teach the plans you’ve created?