A Prayer for the School Year
It’s that time of year. You can feel it: school is restarting. Being married to a teacher, and having 3 school aged kids – it’s impossible to ignore these days! Whether you’re a parent of young ones, a grandparent, aunt, uncle, friend, neighbor, teacher, administrator, lunch aid, or whatever else – you probably feel it too. There’s supplies to buy, schedules to work out, lunches to prepare and pack, post-summer tears to dry, and summer reading to cram in. With school comes added stress on families, additional childcare juggling, different moments of peer pressure, new educational struggles, and on and on.
But, it also provides an opportunity for kids to grow, learn, make friends, play together, and develop life skills. It provides teachers and other staff an opportunity to use their gifts to raise up our little ones. For those with a precarious home situation, it provides stability, regular attention, and nurturing to the most vulnerable children. It provides young people a path and a push to grow and mature into the future adults, parents, and leaders that this world needs.
Jesus said that we should concern ourselves with these “little ones” (Mark 9:36-37, 42) – so as a church, let’s take time this week to pray together for the upcoming school year. Here’s a prayer I wrote to guide us as a church. For the “We now take a moment…” parts, take some time to pray specifically for someone who God has put on your heart.
Our Lord and God,
We come to you at the beginning of this upcoming school year with hopes and fears, joys and concerns, and all of the mixed feelings in between. We know that you showed concern for the ‘little ones’ – especially for the most vulnerable among us, and so we start, by praying for the kids.
We pray for the children of Central Baptist: that they would flourish during this school year. We pray that they’d learn and grow to mature more and more. We ask you that socially, they’d make good friends and grow to be a good friend. For those who struggle – be it academically, emotionally, or socially – we ask that you’d make a way for them where there might not be a way. Gift their teachers and instructors with the ability to connect with them in the way that they need. For all of the kids at Central, we pray that their school year would be truly good. We now take a moment to pray for our own kids specifically.
We also pray for the kids who are not part of Central, but might be the friends, new classmates, and even rivals of our kids. What we prayed for our kids, we pray for them too. We pray that through our kids, you might shine your light in their lives as well. We now take a moment to pray for the one or two other kids who you’ve put on our hearts.
We pray for all of the teachers, classroom aides, professional staff, and administrators. We thank you for them, for the gifts you’ve given them to teach and lead, and we pray for their success this year. We pray that you’d give them strength, wisdom, insight, compassion, energy, and above all, patience! We pray that you would foster inspirational, encouraging, and even life-changing relationships between them and the kids. We now take a moment to pray specifically for the teacher or other staff member who you’ve put on our hearts.
We pray that this school year would be a fun, safe, joyful, and fruitful year for all involved. If there is a way for us – as a church or as individuals – to be a voice of hope in the schools, please show us how. We praise you that we, as your children, can call you not only our Father, but our Teacher as well.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Take some time to pray like this this week, maybe even more than once. While you’re at it – please continue to pray for our own Sunday School, and all of the new developments that are happening on Sunday mornings with Central Kids. We had a GREAT Open House last night, and we’re really looking forward to kicking things off in a fresh new way on September 11 (remember – Sunday service AND Kids program will move to 9:30!).
Thank you,
Matt Agresti
Pastor, Central Baptist Church