As a new school year begins, there is so much to prepare. For some families, that means buying supplies, filling backpacks, meeting teachers, and getting ready to walk through the school doors. For others, it means choosing curriculum, preparing a homeschool space, and establishing a new rhythm of learning together.
Those preparations matter. But as parents and grandparents, we know our children need more for the year ahead than what we can put in a backpack, arrange in a classroom, or plan around the kitchen table. They need our prayers.
Our children are entering a year filled with new lessons, relationships, challenges, opportunities, and sometimes fears. We cannot anticipate everything they will encounter, but we can entrust every part of their year to the God who already knows what lies ahead. So as you prepare for school, make prayer part of that preparation.
Pray for their faith. Ask God to make His presence real to your children throughout their day, whether they're sitting in a classroom, learning at home, or participating in a homeschool co-op. Pray that they would know His love, follow Jesus courageously, and continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ.
Our Praying for Children and Grandchildren guide offers Scripture-based prayers asking God to keep our children aware of His nearness, help them follow Jesus, and grow them in His grace and knowledge.
Pray for their fears and anxieties. A new school year can bring excitement, but it can also bring uncertainty. New teachers, difficult subjects, changing friendships, academic pressures, or simply adjusting to a new routine can feel overwhelming. Pray that when anxiety rises, your children will learn to bring their needs to God with prayer and thanksgiving. Ask the Lord to replace fear with the security of His perfect love. Remind them often: You don't have to face today alone. God is with you.
Pray for their friendships and influence. Ask God to surround your children with people who encourage what is good and true. Whether those relationships develop at school, church, sports, homeschool groups, or in the neighborhood, pray for friendships that strengthen their faith. Pray, too, that your children will be that kind of friend to someone else, someone who notices others, shows kindness, stands for what is right, and remembers others in prayer.
Pray for homeschool families. For families who homeschool, pray for both the children and the parents carrying the roles of parent and teacher. Pray for patience on hard days, wisdom when a child is struggling, endurance when the lesson plan doesn't go as planned, and grace when family life and school life collide.Around the kitchen table are opportunities to model forgiveness, perseverance, curiosity, prayer, and a love for God's truth. Pray that learning at home would deepen relationships and help children see that following Jesus shapes all of life.
Pray for teachers. Remember the men and women who will spend countless hours teaching, encouraging, correcting, and caring for our children. Pray that God gives teachers wisdom to understand the children entrusted to their care, patience when classrooms are difficult, strength when they are weary, and compassion for students who are struggling. For Christian teachers, pray that their faith would shape the way they love and serve their students and colleagues.
Pray for administrators and school leaders. Principals, administrators, counselors, school-board members, support staff, and co-op leaders make decisions that affect children and families every day. Pray that God grants them wisdom, integrity, courage, compassion, and discernment. Ask Him to help them lead well and make decisions that promote what is good for the children entrusted to their care.
Pray for their future and protection. School can make the future feel like it is all about grades, accomplishments, sports, college, or careers. Remind your children that their future ultimately belongs to God. Pray that they will follow Him wherever He leads and remember His promise that He will never leave or forsake them.We cannot protect our children from every difficult thing they may encounter, but we can entrust them to the One who can. Pray for God's presence in trouble, His protection from adversity, and His deliverance from evil.
And don't forget to thank God for them. Before asking God to help them succeed, protect them, or change them, simply thank Him for the gift of your child. Thank Him that He knows them, formed them, sustains them, and is continuing the good work He began in them.This back-to-school season, as you check the supply list, organize the calendar, prepare the classroom, or set up the homeschool space, add one more kind of preparation to your routine: pray.
Pray together before the first day. Put a Scripture in their lunchbox or on the homeschool whiteboard. Pray in the car on the way to school or co-op. Speak a blessing over them before they walk out the door or open the first book of the morning. Consider choosing one of the prayer areas above to focus on each day. Take time to pray intentionally for that specific area, asking God to work in your child’s life throughout the school year.
At the end of the day, ask about more than grades and assignments. Ask where they saw God, who might need their prayers, or when they had an opportunity to show kindness.
Because preparing our children for school is about more than making sure they have everything they need for the classroom. It is also about helping prepare their hearts for the people they will meet, the challenges they will face, the decisions they will make, and the person God is shaping them to become.
Whether you're waving goodbye at the school door, dropping off a teenager, heading to a homeschool co-op, or gathering your children around the kitchen table, send them into this school year covered in prayer.
Our Praying for Children and Grandchildren guide is a helpful resource to keep nearby throughout the school year, offering Scripture-based prayers for your children's faith, future, protection, times of suffering, and more.
Download Our Praying for Children and Grandchildren guide and use it throughout the year to pray intentionally and consistently for the children God has placed in your life.
A Back-to-School Prayer
Father, thank You for the gift of our children. As they begin this school year, make them aware of Your presence and grow them in their faith and knowledge of Jesus.
When they are anxious, teach them to pray. When they are afraid, remind them of Your perfect love. Give them wisdom in their friendships, courage to live out their faith, compassion for those around them, and perseverance when learning is difficult.
Bless their teachers with patience, wisdom, endurance, and compassion. Strengthen homeschooling parents as they teach and disciple their children. Give administrators and school leaders wisdom and integrity as they make decisions affecting children and families.
Protect our children, guide their steps, and surround them with people who encourage what is good and true. Above all, help them remember that wherever they learn and whatever this school year brings, You are with them, You are at work in them, and You will never leave or forsake them.
Amen.