KayleArlaus_EDAS740_PrayerReflectionReport

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Philosophy

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Jan 9, 2024

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PRAYER REFLECTION 1 Prayer Reflection Report Kayle Arlaus School of Education, Liberty University Author Note Kayle Arlaus I have no conflict of interest to disclose. Any issues regarding this reflection should be addressed to Kayle Arlaus. Email: kdarlaus@liberty.edu

PRAYER REFLECTION 2 Prayer Reflection In the last thirty days, I have embarked on a new journey of beginning a prayer journal, which has become a part of my nightly routine. This opportunity has provided me with the intentional time to hold close conversation with God while gaining a better understanding of who I am, more insight into who my colleagues are, and their impact on mine and others’ lives. I focused on members of the Academic Services team I am currently a part of as well as my chief academic officer, and both principals I work closely with in support of our English as a Second Language (ESL) program. We speak with each other daily and remain in contact through different mediums about important matters that impact our students. Since the time I began the prayer journal, I can see some changes in the lives and decision makers of the leaders I work with and mine. This unique experience of tracking prayers for those around me and reflecting on the prayers has been eye-opening, and I am hopeful that I will remain committed to continuing this process after this final reflection. At the beginning of this assignment, I did a quick inventory to see what my prayers were like, and I found that although I do pray regularly, they tend to be unfocused and selfish in me asking for things. I was excited to try a more intentional type of prayer but found that I was treating it like a checklist at first instead of a genuine attempt to ask God to guide those around me. As time went on, I found my prayer sessions transforming through my intentions while praying. For example, at work I found myself shifting the way I paid attention to our conversations. This gave me the opportunity to get to know the whole person instead of just the aspects I thought were important to glean from a particular conversation. My chief academic officer confided in me that her child whom she was worried about had finally decided which college to attend and if she should study abroad her first semester. This weighed on my

PRAYER REFLECTION 3 colleague, and her daughter made her feel more secure and less worried about her as these life- changing decisions were made. This reminded me of my prayer journal entry from day eleven of praying for the children of our leaders. This was an interesting day for me because I decided to pray for the spouses and children of my colleagues from that point because those relationships are heavily impacted by leadership roles. It felt good to be able to reflect and see results and acknowledge that prayers were answered and pray from a thankful heart. God tells us, “Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise” ( New International Version, 1978/2011, James 5:13-18). I felt happy and joyous that my colleague was comforted in her daughter’s choices and that God had answered prayers for good decisions to be made. This has been a transformative process in that I understand more of what a privilege it is to be a part of others’ lives. Really looking at how I felt and what I saw happening around me made me realize that with prayer, “Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God” ( New International Version, 1978/2011, 2 Corinthians 9:11). Praying for my colleagues made me feel joy and thanking God for what he provides for my work environment and those involved made me feel even more joyous and thankful. It is a wonderful feeling to be thankful. Something I will take with me from this experience is that with leadership come many hardships that others may not be aware of and sometimes may seem to increase personal suffering. During the school year, our chief academic officer had to make a lot of difficult decisions that were not always popular with everyone. She remained patient and took the time to explain the reasoning behind the district’s decisions. This reminded me of my prayers on day 17 when I prayed for our academic leadership team to make the right decisions for the best interest of our students and for those in our district

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