10 Back to School Prayers for Your Children
- Amanda Idleman Contributing Writer
- Updated Aug 16, 2021
We are on the cusp of the start of a new school year! This year will likely be filled with extra challenges as we all continue to navigate COVID and the effects it's had on our world. Covering our children with prayer is one of the most important ways we can support our kids as they venture back to school or begin their school year at home. God provides abundantly for his children. We can cast our cares about what our kids may be feeling or facing on the Lord. He is faithful to hear us and to help carry our burdens.
The stressors and responsibility of teaching and raising the next generation are heavy ones. Our "normal" has so dramatically transformed since COVID became a part of our lives. Many of us feel overwhelmed and unsure about how to navigate the many new routines and extra precautions we all have to take to keep our homes and communities safe. Jesus invites those of us who are weary and burdened to draw closer to him (Matthew 11:28-30). As we feel the pressure of navigating a new, less conventional school year, be reminded that God is with you in this crazy season! He has not abandoned us and invites us to lean more heavily on him as we walk through the school year.
Here are some verses and prayers we can use to jump-start our prayer life as we seek God's presence to be with us as we walk through the school season.
1. A Prayer for Protection
Psalm 121: 7-8
"The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."
Lord, I ask as my children head back to school that you would keep them from all harm. Watch over their lives. Watch over their coming and going. Graciously be with and protect my kids this school year. Amen.
2. A Prayer for Diligence
"The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor."
I pray that my children will approach this school year with diligence. Give them the strength they need to work hard at their studies and every task given to them over the course of the year. Grant them not only knowledge through their efforts but also help them to grow in their wisdom. Amen.
3. A Prayer for Kindness
"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."
Jesus, would you give my child, my child's teachers, peers, and others they interact with the ability to treat others with kindness. Fill their school and classroom with tenderness. Give each person in their community the ability to forgive easily. Amen.
4. A Prayer for Joy
"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."
Lord, I pray that you would fill my children with your joy as they begin a new year of learning! Help them to find joy in their studies and interaction with their teachers and peers at school. May they be filled with wonder as they learn more about this world you have created. Throughout this year, help them to know you better through their studies. Amen.
5. A Prayer for Strength
"Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you."
God, I ask that you would help my child to be strong and courageous as they tackle a new school year! Take from them any dread, anxiety, or grief that may want to steal their joy as they embark on a new school year. Remind them daily that you are with them! You will never leave them and give them the strength they need to walk through each day. Amen.
6. A Prayer for Friendship
"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
Father, I ask that you would bring friends into my child's life that would build them up. Bring others that would encourage them in their faith walk. Help them to be wise in the friendships that they choose to invest their time and energy into. Amen.
7. A Prayer for Balance
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven."
God, help my child to find balance as they begin a new routine over the course of the school year. Help them to wisely choose how to spend their time. Make room in their life for schoolwork, rest, friends, fun, and the other activities that they choose to pursue. Amen.
8. A Prayer for Wisdom
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."
Lord, I pray that my child would not only be filled with new knowledge but they also would gain your wisdom. Give them a heart that desires to know you and to follow your ways. Work every experience they have for their good. Graciously show them your way. Protect them from the ideas in this world that would seek to confuse and entrap us. Amen.
9. A Prayer for Love
"How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings."
God, would you show my child how much you love them this year! Speak into their heart the value that they have as your precious creation. May they grow to be secure in their identity as a child of God. When they need it, cover them in the shadow of your wing. Amen.
10. A Prayer for Fun
"A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed."
Jesus, I ask that my child's school year would be filled with sweet memories that they will cherish for their lifetime. Infuse their days with fun that will keep them filled with joy as they grow and learn. Give them a cheerful face that is contagious as they walk through this school year. Amen.
God, give our children and us the ability to extend to everyone we interact with a special dose of grace and understanding in this year for all the extra stresses and fears that may make this year harder to navigate. Help us to speak slowly and to be quick to listen (James 1:19).
God's Word says the prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective (James 5:16). That means that anyone who has accepted Jesus as their Savior has the ability to petition him in prayer. The best part is that he says that God hears us and will act on our behalf. God's actions aren't always what we expect, but we can count on the fact that He is always faithful to be present with us when we call out to him for help.
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