Prayer For Students Going Back To School
Lord, please bless [child's name]. We ask in this back-to-school prayer that You give him/her strength and courage to be away from mommy and daddy and that You sustain and guide him/her as he/she learns and grows. We ask that You protect and be with [child's name] this school year and that You equip us as parents to help guide him/her. In Jesus' name, Amen.
God, I pray for students of all ages, who learned with finality, that they won't return to school this year.
I pray for daycare kids and preschoolers who are too young to understand why they can't see their teachers and friends. I pray for the children who miss their safe spaces to play and their loving teachers who help them learn the foundational pieces that carry them throughout their lives. I pray for the stories unread, the songs unsung, the play-scapes unconquered, and the vast number of character-plastered band-aids left undeployed.
I pray for elementary students who will miss their classes and opportunities. For the children who thrive through being challenged, who depend upon school meals, who have learned to socialize and flourish, who are known deeply by their teachers and staff. I pray for the loss of memories of joy, for every kickball and hula-hoop left in the gym closet and not on the field day grass, for every back seat of a school bus not occupied by the fastest or boldest 5th grader, for every sibling squad not strolling home together sharing about their day.
I pray for every middle schooler who will miss their networks, who will lose this time to share the transformation from child to teen. I pray for all our young ones who have spent this year finding themselves as musician, athlete, gamer, socialite, scholar, or more, and now feel stuck at home without a place to fully share who they want to be. I pray for the school administrators and teachers whose soul and passion is for students at an age of change whose hearts are breaking at the loss of positive connection. I pray for every awkward dance left on the cafeteria floor, for every locker left undecorated, for every yearbook crack left unsigned, for every 8th grader who doesn't get a chance to orient to high school and walk around the school with their heads held high for the last time for years to come.
I pray for our high schoolers whose only answer to the daily battle of worth is the community of people who pick them up with their acts of care. I pray for each moment of self-reliance stripped back, for each moment of young, unrealistic love, shunted, for each moment of triumph and tribulation avoided, and for the power of spirit and belonging being brought back into the closet. I pray for the loss of band competition medals, for quizzes not making it to the bowls, for the winning shot not falling on the court or the stage, for the winnable wallflowers not breaking the polls to win king or queen. I especially pray for the seniors who have been amped for this moment to shine and seeing it piece by piece falling away, all because of a novel virus that took away their storybook ending.
I pray for our school staff educators who didn't get to say goodbye. Who didn't get to reconcile their last hard conversation with students. I pray for our teachers who left their last lesson, planning for it not to be the last, and leaving the lessons most needed on their list for days meant to come. I pray for the call of our teachers to do their best for their students who feel helpless to complete the task.
I pray for the vulnerable. For families without options for childcare. For parents feeling ill-equipped. For students dependent on the structure of school in an otherwise chaotic life. For the children with special education needs who may not be included in broad stroke electronic expectations. For meal-dependent children who may not eat. For those without technology, and internet that have perpetually been given unequal opportunity, being moved forward while being left behind once again. I pray for those who have lost their refuge, their champion, their squad, their family.
God, you are bigger than our doubts, you are stronger than our fears, and so today I say, GOD, I KNOW YOU ARE PRESENT, BUT THIS HURTS! Something can be the right decision and still cut deep. Losing a school year hurts the ones who are already hurting the most. God, shelter the vulnerable, like Jesus cared for the lost and forgotten. Here and now, Lord, help those who are left without a chance to advocate, germinate, contemplate, and matriculate. Help those who are broken by what is happening to live in the reality of their feelings yet still, have a chance for hope. Help us to be that hope. Help us to be your answer.
Amen.
Father, please fill me with your understanding as I instruct others, Help me to see the individual potential of every student I teach. Father, please fill me with your patience as I teach others, Help me to keep giving of my time and energy, especially to those who struggle the most. Father, please give me your divine wisdom as I am with my class, Show me when I must discipline and when I can show mercy. Father, help me to depend totally on You, For You are the source of my strength, courage and peace. Father, above all, may I love and care for each student I teach. Show me how to serve as Christ serves Give as Christ gives Love as Christ loves. I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, My Saviour and friend. Amen.
Almighty God We give you our school. We give you all the teachers and staff who work here, We give you all the children who study here. We pray our school would be place of great discovery, adventure and creativity. May it be a place where we love to learn and where we learn to love, A place where every one is respected and all are deeply valued. We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference. Amen.
Dear Jesus, Please help me as I start my new school To feel at home, To make new friends, To play games, Learn new things And enjoy each day. Amen.
Dear Father God, Thank you for holiday times For freedom, family and friends. Help me to keep these happy times in my heart. A am excited to start school. To spend time with my teacher and school friends. Help me to settle back into this school year! Help me to learn, to grow in confidence And to have lots of fun.
Father, I thank you for the gift of friendships. I thank you that You've wired each of my children uniquely different to satisfy your purpose for them. Let that beauty shine as they head back to school and engage with others. Help others to see the good in them and help them to see the good in others. Father steer them to the relationships you want them to be in and protect them from the ones that could hurt them. Help me to guide them and teach them what it means to be a friend. Lord, I pray that they are placed with the right teachers who will walk in understanding with them, but also challenge them to be their best. In Jesus' name, Amen!