A Prayer for the New School Year

As another school year begins, we offer this prayer and ask for God’s blessing. We invite you to make this your prayer as well. And for those who do not pray regularly, we hope you will learn that Prayer is simply a conversation between you and God.

Dear God,

Please watch over our students. Help them as they grow in knowledge and understanding. Strengthen them as they develop into young women and young men. Give them curiosity as they wander and wonder. Instill in them the values of respect and humility. Keep them from saying hurtful words towards their classmates, but instead help foster in them a sense of teamwork and school pride as they study in classrooms, play in gymnasiums, and eat in cafeterias.

Guide our teachers and administrators. Help them to understand the heads and hearts of their students. Encourage them to take risks when challenging students to learn and discover on their own. Give our teachers patience as they follow policies and procedures, and do not allow their passions for teaching to become extinguished. Make clear your path to administrators as they shoulder the heavy burden of leading faculties and entire school districts.

Bless the bus drivers, crossing guards, cafeteria workers, custodial staff, teacher assistants, and resource officers. All of these individuals play a pivotal role in the daily experience of our children. Keep our children safe on the roads to and from campus. Work within the nutrients of the food to help sustain our students, and may we be mindful of hungry children who return home to empty refrigerators and pantries. Thank you for individuals who maintain clean facilities and keep our children safe so that they may learn in healthy environments.

Watch over the parents who pack lunches, drive carpools, assist with science fair projects, and read books along with their children. Hear their worries and fears as students are confronted with bullies, wrestle with learning disabilities, and struggle against temptation. Encourage them to take an active role in their student’s academic life. Guide the work of local Parent Teacher Associations and bless conversations about the future development of school districts.

Lord, be with students who are home-schooled and students who attend alternative schools. Watch over young people who have recently graduated from high school and are beginning their studies at a junior college or a four-year college or university. Protect those who have enlisted in the military and are currently undergoing basic training. Guide those who are attending community college, technical college, or some type of trade school.

Walk alongside all of us, God, as we strive to be life-long learners. Enlighten those who study your Word. Teach us lessons from the many books and historical figures which form the Bible. Open our eyes each day to the beauty of your Creation. And may we see in one another a spark of the Divine that you have placed in each human being.

We ask for all these things in the mighty name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.