8 Short Back To School Prayers
Use these short back-to-school prayers to pray for your child, their friendships, their teachers, their growth, and more.
Whether you’re a student, teacher, or parent who is preparing for the return back to school, these short prayers are for you! I know that back to school looks different for everyone, you may be dealing with anxiety, uncertainty or scrambling to get everything in order for the start of school.
However that may look like for you, my hope is that these prayers will set your heart at ease, bring provision where you need it most, and make for a blessed time back to school.
8 Short Back To School Prayers
1. Prayer for Students Going Back To School
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” – 1 Timothy 4:12
Lord,
Today I want to lift up every student who is going back to school. I pray for the youngest little preschooler, to those who are in college, pursuing degrees. I ask that You be with each one of them as they prepare for this new school year.
My prayer is that each one of them would know You and lean on You for strength and wisdom throughout the day. I ask that You would guide them, and protect them throughout their days.
May they know that they are never alone and that they have a friend in Jesus. Remind them that they are able to have an effect on those around them and that the best thing they can do is be a light for Christ to those around them.
Help them to set an example for their peers through their speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. In Jesus’ name, amen.
2. Prayer for Parents of School-Aged Children
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” – Jeremiah 17:7-8
Father,
Thank You for blessing my life with that of my kids. I am grateful that I get to not only see them grow up but that I get to be an integral part of their upbringing.
I know that there is a lot to parenting, and part of that includes educating and helping them with learning. I don’t want to shrug off any responsibility on my part to be a teacher to my children because they go to school.
I appreciate the teachers who work with my children, but I know that all the weight cannot be placed on them alone. There are plenty of students in a class, which means that there will be less time to focus on each student’s needs, interests, and challenges.
Please help me to be present and attentive to my child’s educational needs, interests, and the struggles that they face. Help me to be patient with them, and to encourage them, and be involved in their learning process. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
3. Prayer for Homeschooling Children
“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” – Proverbs 22:6
Lord,
Thank You for my beautiful children, and the gift of getting to not only raise them but to teach them and them the way. Your word says to start off children in the way they should go, and when they are older, they will not turn from it.
Please remind me of the significance of getting to teach my children and show them the way. Help me to be a patient, understanding, and creative teacher.
Show me ways in which I can be engaging, and encouraging toward my children as I homeschool them. Help us to get into a good routine, and to work together well. In times when I feel overwhelmed, I ask that You would fill me with Your peace, and help me to take some time for myself.
Help me not only to teach my children their different subjects but to point them to You, and to bring them up with the knowledge of the fear of You. May they grow to become young people who seek You, and who are life-long students. In Jesus’ name, amen.
4. Prayer for Teachers
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” – Psalm 32:8
Father,
My prayer is that You will be with me as I start this new school year. I know it will come with its own challenges, and my prayer is that I will lean on You through every challenge or change that arises. I know that there is no greater example of a teacher than Christ Himself. He not only taught, but He led by example.
Please help me to reflect Christ in my own life, and in the way that I teach my students. Help me to remember that they are ultimately Yours and that You have given me a gift that should be cherished.
Please help me to steward this position well, and to lead with humility, grace, courage, compassion, and truth. As they look to me as their teacher, I ask that You would help me to look at You as mine. Please instruct me and teach me the way I should go.
Please counsel me with Your loving eye upon me, and help me to be a display of Your love in the lives of my students. In Jesus’ name, amen.
5. Prayer for the First Week of School
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” – Colossians 3:23
Lord,
There are so many things that are happening around this time. As we all prepare for back to school, students, teachers, parents, and staff all have different things that they need to get in order. I ask that You be with every person who will be working in schools, and remind them of the importance of the work that they get to do each day.
I pray for those who are anxious, for the students who don’t know who they will sit with today, or who are intimidated by the classes that they will be taking. I ask that You would ease their minds, and give them the ability to focus well.
Please protect every person on their commute to school and back home. No matter what the position, whether a teacher, student, coach, janitor, principal, or administrator, I ask that You would help each person do their work with all their heart, as working for You, and not for human masters. In Jesus’ name, amen.
6. Prayer for College Students
“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” – Psalm 145:18
Heavenly Father,
My prayer today is for every college student, those who are new, and those who are returning to another year of school. I know that college can seem daunting, as well as exciting for many different people.
I also know that college has a reputation for being worldly and focused on behaviors and activities that are not pleasing to You. I ask that You be with every college student, and remind them that they have a Maker who cares about them today.
May they know that You are near to those who call on You, and who do so in truth. I ask that You protect their hearts from the deceptive attractions of the world.
Help them to keep their path pure by cherishing Your word, and letting it guide them in all that they do. Help them figure out what their gifts and interests are, and pursue a career in those areas. In Jesus’ name, amen.
7. Prayer for Friendships
Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” – 1 Corinthians 15:33
Lord,
I thank You for the gift of friendship. I think of every student who will be walking into the doors of the school and all the people that they will come across.
I know that friendships are not only an important part of our private lives but that it is a big part of the lives of students. It is even more important who those friends are and how they influence you. It can be tempting to seek the approval of others or to fit in and compromise your values.
My prayer is that You will help students to find friends who will lead them on the right path, instead of misleading them. Help them to be good friends to others, to encourage, and keep one another accountable.
Be with those students who are struggling with loneliness or who feel outcasted or misunderstood. May they know You as their friend, and comfort them, as well as send the right friends into their lives.
8. Prayer for Students to Grow in Their Gifts
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” – 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
Lord,
Thank You for every student who will be going back to school. I know beyond being a student, they are people who are made in Your image. That not only means that they have intrinsic value, but that You have made them on purpose and that they all have a gift that needs nurturing.
As teachers, there is a great responsibility and opportunity to help to bring the best out of students and to nurture both their strengths and the areas in which they struggle. I ask that You would help not only teachers but parents to be a part of students’ gifts, in growing them and helping them to navigate them, and use them for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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