Once children begin attending school, they are away from their parents for several hours a day most days. This can cause some degree of anxiety for some parents, especially with some of the current news stories about bad things happening in schools. Even if the children are attending a carefully vetted private school, there is still good reason to pray for them, both while they attend school and at home.
Prayer for Growth
Children have grown a lot from the time they were infants, but they still have a long way to go. Not only do they need to grow more physically, they also have a lot of mental and emotional growing to do. Parents also want them to grow in maturity.
“Heavenly Father, thank You for this child that You have allowed us to take care of and watch grow. We know there is more growing still to come, and we pray for Your guidance as we teach proper life skills. We pray for health and growth both physically and mentally for our young child, and also for spiritual growth. Thank You.”
Prayer for Salvation
One of the most important things a child can do is to learn to know Christ and follow Him. Every Christian parents wants nothing more for their children than to see them walk with God and embrace the salvation by grace through faith that God offers to all.
“Our Father, as we have come to know You, we pray that our child will also come to know You. Draw this child to Yourself and lead our little one to trust You. We pray that our child will experience Your salvation and learn to live for You and serve You.”
Prayers Before School
Children will need a lot of prayer for school. There are so many things that will come their way every day, from confusion to bullies and friends to temptations, and so much more. They will need prayer more than ever as they work their way through days of classes and activities, and even more so if they ride the bus to and from school.
Strength
“Dear Jesus, be with this child throughout school today. Give strength to deal with new things. Give clarity of mind and understanding. Give strength of character to handle whatever happens.”
Courage
“Lord God, there are so many new things that will be faced by our child today. Please provide courage to follow through with the necessary work today and to speak up in class when it is appropriate. Give our child the courage to do what is right in every situation, regardless what anyone else says.”
Friends
“Dear God, we know how important it is to surround one’s self with good friends who will encourage and uplift. Please lead our child to this type of child and help our young one to be this kind of friend, as well. Keep away the children that only mean to be unkind.”
Proper Living
“Heavenly Father, You know how we have worked teach this little one how to do what is right in Your eyes. Please remind our child of this information whenever temptation happens. Keep this child’s feet on the narrow way that You have set up for us to walk.”
Grace
“Father God, thank You for Your grace to us. Please bestow our child with grace to deal with everything that happens at school today. Let both speech and actions be seasoned with salt and full of grace and kindness to others.”
Compassion
“Dear Lord, You know how unkind children can be. Please help our child to have compassion for others and do whatever is possible to be kind and helpful to others.”
Safety
“Our Father, bless our child with safety throughout the day. Keep evil away and give Your protection in all places our little one is today. Protect this child from injury, both of body and mind.”
Prayer for Homework
When the children get home from school, there is usually homework to be done. This can be a very challenging time for both children and parents – especially when children are learning old concepts in a new, unfamiliar way! Bathing this time in prayer can help to ease some of the stress that is inherent in the process.
“Heavenly Father, we are dealing with new concepts and practicing concepts that have been learned. Please give our child clarity and aid in remembering what has been taught in class today. Help this homework to be completed thoroughly and properly in a reasonable amount of time and help us to find pleasure in doing a good job. Help us all to stay calm and give understanding to both us and our child.”
Prayers for Bedtime
After a long and busy day, bedtime is often welcome as a time to wind down, relax, and get ready to enjoy a good night’s sleep. Some children find themselves more ready for bed and sleep than others. Either way, closing out the day with a bit of time with the Creator is never a bad idea.
“Our Lord, thank You for all that has happened today. Help us to learn from what we have experienced, and we are grateful for the ways You have helped us and our child. Give this child of ours peace and sweet sleep, with only good dreams. Help our young one to wake in the morning fully refreshed and ready to face another day.”
There will doubtless be more situations that were not covered above, and those, too, should be covered in prayer, as God is able to heal, protect, encourage, and take care of everything in one’s life – both parents and children. Living each day with close communication with God is a good example to the children and also a very effective way to keep one’s self and one’s children in God’s care through everything that is faced – good or bad – during the average school day throughout the entire school year.