Prayer For 8th Grade Graduation
Father God, we thank you for these graduating students. We pray that you will give them direction, purpose, and perseverance as they enter the next phrase of their lives. Give them clearness of mind to move forward into the plans and purposes that You have for them. May these young people gain wisdom from You and have discernment for proper behavior. Raise up Christian mentors for these graduates so they have someone who holds them accountable for their actions. We pray that they will rise above ungodly behaviors and have the boldness to stand up for what is right wherever they work, study, or socialize. Give them wisdom to spend their time and money wisely. Grant them success for their efforts at every turn and guide their feet to follow Your ways. May they be eager to do good and not evil all the days of their lives. Use them in might ways, Dear Father. In Jesus name, amen.
Almighty God, Thank you for the wonderful time we have had learning and studying here. Please bless us now as we celebrate and mark this special day. May each one of us find ways to cherish the memories we have made, And look forwards with courage in our hearts to the new challenges ahead. Lord, please guide our footsteps. Come lead us in our new areas of study and the work opportunities that lie ahead of us. Father please fill our minds with vision. As we begin new adventures may each graduate be blessed with friendship, support and love. Thank you, Lord, for the privilege of studying here. Please bless each member of staff here today and this inspiring place of learning. Amen.
Father, we thank you so much for our time here together For all the friends we have made For all the days of laughter and fun And for all the times of great discovery and learning. We thank You for all who have given of their energy and skill So that we can graduate today. Our teachers and mentors Our family and loved ones We thank You for them and give them all to You in prayer. As this chapter on our life closes, so a new one begins. We present ourselves like an open book before You. Come and scribe Your words of life into our lives - Fill our minds with Your thoughts Fill our bodies with Your strength Fill our hearts with Your dreams That we might eternally love and serve You This day and every day. We ask all this in the glorious name of Jesus Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit World without end. Amen.
Today we join with heaven as we celebrate and give thanks for every student here. Thank you that each one is unique and brimming with potential. Thank you for leading them in their learning, for keeping them safe as they studied, and for watching over them in their final exams. We pray that they may all feel proud this day and enjoy sharing their achievements with family and friends. May today be a memory that burns bright within them as they embark on life's great adventure.
Dear Lord,
As I look toward the future
Bright hope conducts this prayer,
For I know the plans You have for me
Were wrought with divine care.
Holy Spirit, lead me.
Let me run at Your command,
Yet be still and know that You are God
When trouble is close at hand.
Your Word will be a lamp for me,
A guide to light my way,
A solid place to set my feet,
A compass when I stray.
May I live my life to praise You,
Not for fortune, nor for fame,
May everything I say and do
Bring glory to Your name.
May my eyes stay fixed upon You
As I seek the way that's pure,
Tasting Your love and goodness
Sleeping and rising secure.
Planted by Your living streams
I'll delight in all Your ways,
Hidden by Your sheltering wings
With new mercies for each day.
Even in a dangerous land
When storms threaten to destroy,
At the cross I'll stand upon the Rock
My Strength, my Hope, my Joy.
Dear Lord, show me Your favor,
At all times keep me blessed,
May Your face ever shine upon me,
With peace and perfect rest.
Let us unite our hearts in prayer
and entrust to the hands of the Lord
those who will be graduated tomorrow.
May God who began this good work in you
carry it through to completion,
enabling you to use your talents to the fullest.
May God give you the grace to make wise choices
and to be faithful to your commitments,
always confident in the support of those who love you.
May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers,
half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you will live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice,
oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you will work for justice, equality, and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who
suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war,
so that you will reach out your hand
to comfort them and change their pain into joy.
May God bless you with the foolishness to think
that you can make a difference in the world,
so that you will do the things
which others tell you cannot be done.
May your integrity be a gift to the world
and may the Spirit of God be with you always.
Good and loving God-
We thank you for the completion of another academic year, and for giving us the opportunity,
short though it may have been, to play a part in the lives of our students and our new
graduates. We are grateful for your guidance and love as we shared in this important work.
Please bless and guide our graduates as they reach this end, and as they chart new beginnings.
May what they have learned by being here with us allow them to truly be "women and men for
others." May what we have learned from them enable us to be the same.
Please help them to use all that they have learned here to make the world a better place - to
serve others in true solidarity and kinship - to seek ways to help the poor, the marginalized,
and those who are suffering - and to always seek the greater good.
We know that some of them will experience pain and hardship, and we know that some of
them already have, and we ask you to grant them solace and strength.
Finally, Father, we thank you for giving us the opportunity to build our community with these
young men and women while they are here. Though they are leaving our campus, we know
that they will always be with us as part of the Xavier family, and we ask that the bonds that
have been created here remain strong despite any distance.
We ask all of this in your name, and in the name of your Son.
Dear God,
We pray for our graduates today and lift them before you. We thank you so much for these we love and for the work you are continuing to do in their lives. They are a gift to us and to many others. And during this season of new beginnings, we ask that you would make their way clear. We ask that you would keep their footsteps firm and remind them that you are with them, always. May they sense the freshness of your Spirit over their lives in amazing ways, may they be strengthened, instilled with hope, for the new roads you have in store.
And today, again, we release our children straight into your tender care. Because we know that's the best place they could ever be. We thank you in advance for all you have in store, for this day, for this year, for their lives.
We pray for protection, for your covering, that you would surround their lives as with a shield. Protect their coming and going. We ask that you would help them to live aware in a dark world and keep harm or evil intent far away. We ask that you would hide them in the safety of your powerful presence.
Our world is currently anxious, fearful and uncertain. We pray our graduates are filled with your courage and strength, that they may be a light to their friends and neighbors in this uncertain time.
We ask for your wisdom and clear direction over their lives, that you would give them understanding beyond their years. Thank you that your timing is perfect. We pray that you would direct their steps, that your plans for them would prosper; that every place you have determined for them to walk would be paved clear. We ask for you to open doors that need to be opened and close every one that should be shut tight. Allow every gift and treasure you have placed inside their lives to grow, develop, and flourish, to bring you glory.
We ask that you would remind them every day how very much you love them, that they would find security and confidence fully in you, knowing that you are trustworthy and true.
We ask that you would teach them your ways and fill them with an unquenchable desire to learn your Word. Give them a compassionate spirit, and the wisdom to look beyond outward appearances to the heart within. We pray that you would surround them with friends and leaders who would challenge them to press closer to you.
We ask for your peace to cover them. We ask for laughter and joy to fill their days. We pray that you would give them boldness and courage to face challenges set before them, with the confidence and peace that can only come from your spirit.
We ask that you would raise up greatness in their lives, greatness in this generation, willing to stand strong and true, passionate for you, believing that you have designed them for purpose and good works, which you have planned and prepared in advance for them to do.
Be a lamp for their feet, and a light to their path. Shine over them. Fill them with your spirit. Bless them with your favor and peace.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.