A Teacher’s Prayer

By Esther R. Bowen

Our kind and Heavenly Father,
With all Thy loving care,
Wilt Thou grant me this petition
And hear a teacher’s prayer.

Help me to live so close to Thee
That I might have, I pray,
The shining light of love to teach
These children of to-day.

These little ones have come to me,
And may I always know
Just how to guide their footsteps
In the paths where they should go.

Grant me strength and wisdom
That I might evil stem,
And help me to be pure in heart –
I would be one with them.

And when I stand before them,
May I so humble be,
That the radiance of Thy spirit
Might shine on them through me.

To teach these little children
My joy will be untold,
If through my earnest efforts
I can keep them in Thy fold.

(1941)