Your Greatest Homeschooling Activity

Several years ago while driving in the Western suburbs, I saw a lady stopped at a traffic light, laughing while taking a picture at the street signage of a Walgreens. When I looked at it, I too started to laugh. It read, “We have all your back-to-school needs.” Just below that, meant to be a separate announcement, it read, “Six pack of Michelob only $5.00.” It looked like the two actually went together. I sarcastically thought, “They must cater to homeschool moms!”

As the new school year comes upon us, everyone is in a different place. Some are excited about the new possibilities. Others may be apprehensive as they are joining a new group or using a new curriculum. Some may be coming off a difficult last year or a challenging summer and feel drained before the year even gets started. This is why prayer is so important. The wonderful thing about prayer is the only way it does not work is if we do not make the effort.

Consider the encouragement from Romans 8

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ²⁷ And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. — Romans 8:26, 27

Notice several things here. First, God, the Holy Spirit realizes we are weak. Christians often try to earn their answers to prayers by acting like something God already knows we are not. Since God knows that we are spiritually frail, He gave us prayer as a great channel to reach out to Him. Not only does He recognize our weakened state, He realizes we don’t even know what we really need. Have you had those prayer times when all you can say is, “God, help me!” Sometimes we simply don’t know what to do or what we need. This is when the Holy Spirit rushes in to help.

He is so passionate about our approach to the throne of grace that He groans deeply on our behalf to the Father. Can you imagine that? Yet, the devil would have us think that our eloquence is what moves the heart of God. No, it is the groanings of the Holy Spirit that motivates the Father to answer our prayers.

Finally, because He knows the mind of God—He is God—He always intercedes on our behalf according to the perfect will of God. We may pray, “thy will be done” but He doesn’t need to do that because He knows the plan for our lives.

As you approach this school year, you may consider sharing this article with your family around the dinner table and make the point that God always hears our prayers. (Proverbs 15:29) Better yet, He always prays for us with exact specificity and accuracy. You could also share your goals for the year and pray for those. You could ask your children if they have anything they want to pray for. You may even want to keep some type of a journal as prayers get answered in order to build everyone’s faith.

For those of you who lead groups, you may consider using these prompts as a group prayer meeting. What are the specific needs for your group? How about unity, putting others before ourselves, that healthy relationships would be made, that children would come to Christ, etc.

Parents could also use these as devotional thoughts, especially with their older children. Some questions are included to help initiate conversations. Not only does this guide them in how to pray, it can also be a time of teaching and imparting vision for them to disciple their children in the future.

Some ICHE parents take one of these requests each day and therefore prays for them around three times each throughout the month. Some may fast a meal or even twenty-four hours to have more focused attention. As you pray, don’t only pray for your family, but pray for the entire Christian homeschool community and the ICHE leadership as we seek to keep homeschooling free in Illinois. May God be glorified and His people edified.

1. Pray that God will genuinely open our spiritual eyes to see that prayer is not the last resort, but should be our first line of defense and offense.
   1. Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! –Psalms 4:1
   2. And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. –Mark 1:35
   3. (What does it mean that prayer is often our last line of defense instead of our first? If this is true, what does that say about us? How do you see prayer?)
2. Pray that God will give us wisdom and discernment in our scheduling; pray that our schedule will serve us and not the other way around.
   1. So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. –Psalms 90:12
   2. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. –Proverbs 9:11
   3. (Why is scheduling so important? Can we take it too far? How is the balance of this in our household?)
3. Pray that God will give us understanding in how to tap into the desire for learning with our little ones as well as giving our teenagers a greater awareness of how little time they have to prepare for their future.
   1. youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. –Daniel 1:4
   2. As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. –Daniel 1:17
   3. (Why is it important for teens to be motivated to do their own schoolwork rather than having to be goaded by their parents? Looking back, what do you wish someone would have told you about the future when you were a teenager?)
4. Pray that God will lead each homeschooling family into a healthy network of other homeschoolers in which encouragement, wisdom, and loving challenge can be exchanged.
   1. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. –1 Thes. 5:11
   2. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: –1 Peter 4:10
   3. (Why does God have us to live in community as people, be that a family, church, group, etc.? Why is it important to learn to interact with people?)
5. Pray for each of our homeschooling households to be a place of peace and joy, between husband and wife, parents and children, and siblings.
   1. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. –Romans 15:13
   2. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. –Psalms 128:3
   3. (On a scale from 1 – 10, how much joy and peace are there in our home? Whatever the number, good or bad, ask why that is and what can we do to make it even better?)
6. Pray that God will help us to use technology wisely and teach both parents and children its proper place in our lives.
   1. My son, do not lose sight of these— keep sound wisdom and discretion, –Proverbs 3:21
   2. Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? –Romans 6:16
   3. (Do we control our technology or does our technology control us? What percentage of our time do we use technology for work or study versus play and entertainment?)
7. Pray that along with academic excellence, God will make us increasingly aware of our need of holiness and personal integrity in our daily walk, both in public and in private.
   1. but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, –1 Peter 1:15
   2. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. –Proverbs 15:3
   3. (In what area do you feel you should personally grow this year? In what ways does your family need to grow?)
8. Pray that God will baptize our homes with a fresh abundance of grace.
   1. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. –1 Cor. 15:10
   2. Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” –Zech 4:6,7
   3. (Do we see grace as God’s empowerment to us? In what areas of home and homeschooling do we need an extra portion of God’s grace?)
9. Pray that God would bring divine opportunities our way this year, whether that be educationally, vocationally, financially, physically, acts of service, etc.
   1. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. –Galatians 6:10
   2. for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. –1 Cor. 16:9
   3. (Is there a unique activity, experience, job, learning opportunity, or service you would like your children to participate it, but you don’t have the time, energy, or resources? Tell God about it and ask for His will to be done. If He uniquely opens the door, make sure your family gives Him glory for it.)
10. Pray that our homeschooling household would be a place of praise and glory for Christ. Pray that God would give us thankful hearts in all things, every day.
    1. giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, –Eph. 5:20
    2. Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. –Psalms 106:47
    3. (Seek to have each child give three new praises every day for what God has done or is doing in your family’s life. Why is giving thanks important? What does praise do for us?)