8 Beautiful Ways to Pray for Your High School Senior

8 Beautiful Ways to Pray for Your High School Senior

“Don’t blink,” they said. “She’ll be grown before you know it.”

“Soon the moments will be memories.”

In the little years, when the days felt like decades and the nights even longer, those clichés sounded, well, cliché. Yet here we are, embarking on our little girl’s senior year. I’m not sure how we got here this quickly, but ready or not, the school year begins.

I anticipate all the emotions this year (both hers and mine.) We’ll treasure all her lasts as we step into her new firsts. I’ll ache over what’s ending, rejoice over the woman she’s becoming, and worry a little (okay, maybe a lot) over the changes ahead. 

And as best I know how, I’ll take these feelings to Jesus. 

Preparing to Pray

The longer I parent, the more I realize how much I need the help of the perfect Parent, the One who crafted my kids’ souls and fashioned their lives. The One who knows them better than I do, better than they know themselves. The One who sees below the surface to the very core of their being and loves them more — infinitely more — than I do.

I’m learning to ask our Father how to pray for them and to listen for his still, small voice in my soul as he impresses prayer needs on my heart. If you, too, have a senior in your life, I invite you to join me in waiting on God and praying however he leads. 

In addition to any specific prayer needs God may give you, here are eight prayers taken from Scripture that we can pray for the seniors we love.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Carlos Barquero

  • a kid with a backpack

    8 Ways to Pray for Your Senior

    1. Pray They’ll Experience God’s Astounding Love

    “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God” (Ephesians 3:18-19).

    Thank you, Father, for your measureless love. Give _______ (your child’s name) grace to comprehend how much you love them. May they experience your tenderness toward them. Help them recognize your gentleness and compassion so they can embrace a life of faith. May the love of Christ compel them to love you in return, and may it overflow in love to those around them.

    2. Pray They’ll Invite Jesus into Everything

    “Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, and He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way]” (Proverbs 3:5-6 AMP).

    God, _______ has a lot of change in front of them. Be their peace, the strength of their heart and the One with whom they can process every emotion. May you be their constant, the Friend with whom they feel safe, their security in uncertain times. Remind them of your desire to walk through all of life with them. Help them turn toward you daily and invite you into the big and little decisions they face. May trust take root and flourish in their souls. Direct their paths as they lean on you.

    Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Surasaki

  • A group of teen friends goofing around in a park

    3. Pray They’ll Cultivate Healthy Relationships

    “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

    Please surround _______ with wise and encouraging friends. Help them invest in relationships that encourage them to love you and make wise choices. May these people form their core friend group. Teach _______ and their friends to prioritize relational health — sacrificial love coupled with healthy boundaries. 

    Give them a welcoming heart, an attitude that expresses, “There’s always room at my table.” May those who don’t yet know you be drawn to the Christlike love they sense in _______. 

    May they also seek out the wisdom of those with more experience and intentionally learn from them. 

    I pray also for my relationship with my child. Teach us to relate well with one another — with respect, honesty, and love. Help us prioritize time together and make room to listen and give understanding. When I need to correct or instruct, show me how to do so in ways they can receive. Guide us both as we transition from a parent/teen to a parent/young adult relationship.

    4. Pray They’ll Treasure God’s Word

    “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore, I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:103-105).

    Thank you, God, for the gift of your Word. Thank you especially for how you reveal yourself through it. Draw _______’s heart toward it and meet with them there. May it be sweet to them. Teach them your ways. Give them wisdom and discernment. Renew their minds, mend their broken places, and transform them from the inside out as they encounter you through your Word.

    Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Maskot

  • Teenage boy reading the Bible on a dock

    5. Pray They’ll Live with Integrity

    “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil” (Proverbs 4:25-27).

    Help _______ to live with integrity. If they’re holding any double standards, point this out to them and give them courage to choose you and your ways. If friendships or self-oriented desires hold more sway than you, reshape their soul so they love what you love. If anything is hidden that needs to be known, shine your light into the situation.

    May your Word and your Spirit guide them. Give them strength to resist negative peer pressure and personal temptation. Help them actively choose truth and wisdom. May their life be characterized by ongoing growth in Christlikeness. 

    6. Pray They’ll See Themselves through Their God-Given Identity

    “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous — how well I know it” (Psalm 119:13-14).

    You are _______’s Creator. What a masterpiece you’ve made! Help them see themselves as you do. When they’re tempted to define themselves by others’ opinions, remind them who you say they are — an image bearer of the Most High God, a work of art unlike anyone else, a treasure you know and love. When their inner critic condemns them, may the voice of truth speak louder than the lies. When they seek worth and value from what they do or own, teach them instead to rest in your definition of them.

    Photo credit: Unsplash/Ben White

  • Two teenage girlfriends

    7. Pray They’ll Find Their Place within God’s Kingdom Story

    “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

    King Jesus, help _______ to see your kingdom in the everyday and recognize their role within it. Instruct them in the larger picture, the story you’ve been writing since the inception of time. Ignite in their soul a passion to live out your call on their life. May they find great joy and fulfilment in following you in it. Lift their eyes from the here and now so they can live in light of your kingdom. 

    8. Pray They’ll Hunger for God

    “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).

    You, Lord, are infinitely beautiful — the One who truly satisfies our souls. Captivate _______’s heart. Help them to taste and see that you are good (Psalm 34:8). May they experience a growing hunger for you. May their relationship with you be central to everything else. May they never be content with surface knowledge or mental beliefs, but continually long to know you more.

    As our kids embark on their final year of high school, let’s give them the gift of our prayers and our presence. May they feel cheered on and supported, loved and well cared for, prayed over and prepared for whatever chapters come next.

    Photo credit: ©Getty Images/jacoblund

    Meredith Mills headshotMeredith N Mills writes about letting go of the try-harder life through knowing God’s heart and resting in his grace. She’s passionate about helping wounded and weary Christians build (and rebuild) authentic, life-giving faith. You can download her 7-day devotional, Flourish: Devotions from the Garden to Help You Thrive, and subscribe for her email devotions, Multifaceted: Reflections on the Heart of God, at MeredithNMills.com/freebie-library. She’d love to connect with you on Instagram, Threads, and Facebook.