The end of summer break is near. It’s almost time to send our children back to school. Have you bought folders and pencils? Met the new teachers? Signed up for PTA? The list of things to prepare and do feels endless.
Maybe you have moved and have a new district, your child has aged into a new school, or your oldest is just starting kindergarten. As we transition into any new season, like the start of a school year, one of the best ways to prepare is with prayer!
Why We Should Pray for Our Children
As Christians, we can approach the throne of our Almighty God anytime we please. This is an incredible honor! As parents, relatives, or caregivers, we also have the important job of leading our children in the way of the Lord. No matter where they attend school, prayer is a crucial piece of their academic career. Here are 3 reasons you should pray for your children as they go back to school.
- Prayer is Life Changing
The Bible gives us many examples of how prayer changes lives. Jeremiah 33:3 tells us:
- “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
God wants us to pray so we grow in our relationship with Him, and in turn, He will work in our lives by changing us and making us more like Him. Prayer for the school year can change how it turns out for our children and families!
2. Prayer is Commanded by God
God instructs us to pray constantly in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:
- “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (emphasis added).
No matter the circumstance, God teaches us to rejoice and pray to Him always. This keeps our gaze fixed on Him and all He wants to show us. Back-to-school prayer is a great way to follow God’s command.
3. Prayer is Powerful
In 2 Chronicles 7:12-15, King Solomon has just finished building the Temple according to God’s instructions. Solomon then prayed a prayer of dedication, and God responded to him:
- “Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. … if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place”(emphasis added).
The same God who promised to hear, forgive, and heal the Israelites is the same God we can pray to today. God can and will move powerfully when we pray. How could your school be changed if you prioritized prayer for the school year?
How to Plan a Back-to-School Prayer Time
I can’t think of a better way to begin a new school year than with a back-to-school prayer time. Whether your child attends a public, private, or home school, every school needs prayer and God’s hand on them. Here are 5 simple steps for planning a time of prayer for the school year:
Choose a Date and Start Time
- Pick what works best for your area and families – maybe a weeknight evening or early Saturday morning.
- You might want to piggyback off another school event that is already planned, such as a Meet the Teacher Night or Back to School Kickoff. Many parents will already be gathered anyway, so it is easy to add prayer time to that.
Choose a Location
- It is convenient and logical to meet at the school, but you could also walk in the surrounding neighborhoods or meet at a willing church nearby.
- You can use the parking lot of the school, an outdoor sports field at the school, or ask the school administration if you can access the hallways, gym, or cafeteria as well.
Invite Everyone
- Make a post in the social media parent groups for your school.
- Email your school’s leadership to invite them personally, and ask if they would pass it along to the rest of the staff.
- Reach out to any staff members you know personally, such as past teachers.
- Text or call your friends and family and ask them to invite their circles as well.
Provide a Basic Schedule and Prayer Prompts
- The format can be casual and simple, or structured and formal. There is no one way to pray.
- Providing a handout with prayer prompts can help focus the group’s attention on what to pray for (ideas below).
- Consider asking someone to lead the group in well-known worship songs as part of your time together.
- Instructing everyone to break out into smaller groups to pray together can be a good way to connect people.
Watch God work!
- Believe that our God hears us when we pray and wait expectantly for all that He will do during this year at your school!
- Write down all the times you see God move so you can share them at your next back-to-school prayer night the following year.
Prayer Prompts for Your School
These prayer prompts will help you structure your back-to-school prayer night and give you specific people and groups to pray over.
For the students:
- Healthy friendships to grow
- Social and life skills to be built
- Academics to be learned
- Emotional needs to be met
- Families to be healthy
- Safety at school and home
- Salvation and sanctification
For the teachers:
- Classrooms to be peaceful
- Spirits to be strengthened
- Peer relationships to be healthy
- Words to be loving and encouraging
- Work and home life to be balanced
- Skills to be sharpened
- Salvation and sanctification
For the school:
- Maintenance team
- Food services staff
- Security team
- Front office staff
- Administrative/leadership teams
- Governing body (whether the government or a board of directors)
First Day of School Prayer
Whether your child is nervous or excited, happy or sad, ready or not, prayers can help them transition into this new year with the knowledge that God is right by their side every day. Here are some prayer ideas to use with your child on the first day of school.
- For all children: God, thank You for creating this child in Your likeness and giving them their unique talents and abilities. Please let them follow You in all their ways, glorify You in all that they do, and shine Your light to all the world. Protect them, teach them, and lead them as they begin this new school year. Thank You for all that You will do for them this year. Amen.
“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.”—Psalm 139:14
- For the anxious child/parent: God, we thank You that You are in control and that You hear our prayers. Please calm our fears and anxieties and teach us to lean on you when we are weak. Give us peace and rest as we remember that You watch over us every day and nothing is outside of Your reach. Amen.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…”—Philippians 4:6
- For the child going to a new school: God, we know You have ordered our steps and You have placed us at this exact school for a purpose. Please show us how You want us to be used in this new school. Place people in our path that we can minister to and also who can minister to us. Guide our days and actions to glorify You. Amen.
“A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.”—Proverbs 16:9
- For the child struggling with academics/school: God, please let your beauty and grace be upon my child as they work to improve in school. You have the power to make our efforts successful, and we ask You would do that here. Give us power to overcome these struggles, so we may bring glory to You and boast in Your good deeds. Amen.
“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.”—Psalm 90:17
- For the child who doesn’t know the Lord: God, please reveal Yourself to my child and show them how desperately they need Your saving grace. Open their eyes to see You and Your holiness and love. Bring them close to You and radically change their life so that they learn to follow you. Amen.
“…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power…”—Ephesians1:17-19
Challenge
We challenge you to plan a back-to-school prayer time for your child’s school this year. The cost is free, the effort is minimal, but the impact is immeasurable. Invite God into your school and see how He works! Then come tell us the story of how God moved in your school.