Prayer Guide for Back to School

It’s Back To School time! As parents, grandparents, guardians, friends and others in the community, we begin a new school year with many concerns, apprehensions, and hopes. What better way to begin this school year than to begin in prayer? Here is a Back to School Prayer Guide to help you both now and throughout the school year. This prayer guide is general enough to fit all types of education (public, private, co-ops, college, homeschool).

BACK TO SCHOOL PRAYER GUIDE

STUDENTS (FOR ALL STUDENTS GENERALLY, ESPECIALLY GRADES K-5):

• Desire to honor God above all else

• Sweet attitude toward others

• Submissive spirit toward authority

• Patience and understanding with others

• Choosing to follow God rather than follow others

• Best effort for God’s glory

• Self-control

• Discerning heart for truth (versus non-truth)

• Godly friend choices

• Being a good influence on their friends

• Protection and safety (including physical and spiritual)
  

MIDDLE HIGH AND HIGH SCHOOL:

• Desire to honor God and walk consistent with their faith, to walk worthy

• An awareness of being an ambassador of Christ

• Developing godly friendships and relationships

• Wisdom

• Resist temptation and a desire for purity (both in thoughts, online and sexually)

• Respond well to pressure and hardships (academics, relationships, tests)

• Transitions (from building to building, changing schools, changing districts)

• Safety (at school, during athletics, while driving)

• Respect their teachers and authority in school

• To stand for righteousness while submitting to authority

• Focus on academics as they prepare for life

• Be committed to sharing the Gospel as they have opportunities

• Accept the learning process as part of God’s plan for their life
  

COLLEGE:

• Live out their Christian faith in word and actions to those around them

• Remain worldview sensitive as they interact with in-the-classroom and out-of-the-classroom material and others with differing belief systems

• Love the learning process as part of God’s plan for their life

• Love the gift of the local church and it’s gatherings, accountability, and its service to one another amidst the pressures of a typical college student life

• A strong desire to fight sin and temptation – especially among others sex and lust

• Purity

• For growth and maturity, both spiritually and in general life wisdom

• For strong friendships and future godly spouses

• Contentment with where God has them

• Biblical understanding of biblical manhood and womanhood

• Doing one’s best for the glory of God (not settling for low expectations)

• Travel safely

• Provide jobs that work well with school and necessary finances
  

TEACHERS:

• Wisdom in preparation (content, time management, various delivery methods)

• Graciousness toward students (poor attitudes, disobedient, disrespectful, when sinned against)

• Patience with strugglers (with getting the content, with life in general)

• Handle stress in a godly manner (as it builds up throughout the year)

• Purity with other teachers (friendships, attitude)

• Choosing to be a mentor to the children as the children watch them

• Kindness, tenderheartedness, and love

• Provide them an eye and heart for the strugglers

• Ambassadors of Christ wherever they are
  

SUPPORT STAFF (COOKS, CAFETERIA, TRANSPORTATION, OFFICE, PARAPROFESSIONALS, COUNSELORS, MAINTENANCE, CUSTODIAL, SAFETY OFFICERS):

• Awareness of the necessity and importance of their positions – often the first person with whom students, staff and the public interact

• Servant spirit

• God-honoring relationship with students

• Patience with all types of constituents

• Godly communication with each other and other constituents

• God-honoring conflict resolution

• God-honoring attitude under pressure

• Safety (general building safety, physical, transportation)

• Specific to custodial staff – health and stamina

• Specific to transportation staff – safety on the road, social distancing struggles

COACHES:

• Desire to invest in the lives of children

• Balance – balancing a desire to win versus doing every child’s best

• Honor Christ in winning and defeat

• Preparing athletes to be good citizens, to take the next step of life

• Wisdom in decisions regarding athlete’s health

• Eyes to see past the Xs and Os to see athletes who need encouragement, an example, a friend, a mentor, a loving voice

• God-honoring attitude under pressure

• Safety in transportation, competition, and practice for their teams

ADMINISTRATORS:

• Respond godly to authority (the school board, other administrators, head masters, legislature, Department of Education)

• Lead by godly example

• Exhibit servant leadership

• Engage others with general grace

• Empathy with parents

• Respond to the pressure from various constituents

• Wisdom related to curriculum (common core debate, state standards, etc)

• Compassion for district and school families and the hurting

• Patience in the many different situations

• Christ-centered perspective as they lead

• Team spirit in regard to parents, guardians, and grandparents
  

VOLUNTEERS (IN THE CLASSROOM, OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM – OFFICE, COACHES, PTA, OTHERS):

• Servant / selfless spirit

• Awareness of ministry opportunities as they present themselves (maybe as simply as a smile or a word of kindness)

• Sweetness of spirit toward others

• Gospel / Christ-centered intention (motivated by Christ to serve the community out of love versus merely motivated to serve because it’s your child’s school)

• Creativity and ingenuity as they seek to serve

• Resistance to entertaining gossip

• Deaf ear to politics

• Parents would prioritize volunteering

• God would honor the sacrifice of personal and family time to serve others

HOMESCHOOL FAMILIES:

• Much of what is above also applies to this group as well

• Honor God – toward each other (parents and children) in the home

• Student of the Word every day

• Wisdom for curriculum choices and extracurricular activities

• Diligent and self-disciplined (parent and children)

• Manage time well (parent and children)

• Heart for learning (parents who must stay ahead in the curriculum)

• Patient and wise planning

• Positive example for those outside the homeschool community

• Responding wisely and godly to those who may question or critique model

• Encourager to other homeschoolers or those who may have questions

• Co-ops (complications from COVID-19 include changing schedules, changing rules, attendance disruptions, masks, social distancing, etc)

PARENTS:

• Awareness of God’s grace

• Wisdom and discernment with what’s going on in the child’s life

• Develop and model a heart for Christ

• Wisdom to build opportunities to get into the child’s life

• Awareness of the voices of influence in the child’s life

• Ability and discernment to help the child critique culture

• To know when and how to engage the child

• Godly response to authority (school, government, teachers, coaches, etc)