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Prayer Guide for Back to School

Updated: Aug 19, 2022


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)

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