Today we come to you on behalf of the new school year that has just begun. It doesn’t look like how we thought or hoped it would look like. That grieves our hearts and it frustrates our souls. But Father, in the midst of the turmoil, we thank you that Jesus Christ is Lord! You have a plan of victory for us during the school year. We humble ourselves before you and trade in our expectations, our disappointments, and our frustrations for your redemptive plan.

View Comments (5)

I lift up those who will be doing their school at home. For some of us, this is a way of life that we’ve already known. For others, it is a strange new adventure. Will you do something absolutely spectacular in our homes? Would you cause your Word to be enthroned in our lives afresh? Would you cause prayer to be returned to the school rooms across America? Would you cause us to fall in love with you and fall in love with one another in our homes, that we would find your grace and your purpose in this hour?

We ask for: 

Wise schedules,

Wisdom to know when and how to study,

Peace in sibling relationships,

Patience with technology,

Curricula and learning goals that will match students’ needs,

Creative problem-solving as issues of family life arise,

And brain growth for our kids that they can comprehend subject matter in new ways.

Give us a Holy Ghost infusion of patience, Lord!

We ask you to be with those who are teaching and administering this school year. Give them great wisdom and courage. Help them to hear your voice for their unique situations.

We bind depression and anxiety. We disallow suicidal thoughts and discouragement. 

We say yes to the joy of the Lord that will be our strength!

We pray for divine protection for those who will meet in person in classrooms. Give teachers and students great tenacity to walk through their unique situations with courage, laughter, and joy. Protect the weakest among us from the sickness and cause this trial to work together for our good.

We ask you to dispatch extra strength to those in high-risk households: medically high-risk, emotionally high-risk, or even relationally high-risk. You know the needs, Father. You know those who are in violent households. Go into those places where only our prayers can go through the power of your Holy Spirit and deliver the captives.

Father, we have never been in such a weird place before. As a nation, as a community, and as your church we need your help. We cry out for peaceful resolution to conflicts that are very difficult for us to see our way through. For the sake of our children, help us to lead wisely and make good decisions in the months ahead so that when they look back over the school year, it will not scar them but empower them to face whatever is in their futures.

Jesus, take your lordship over our schools and our families. We give you permission and we honor you as our King and our Redeemer. In your name we pray. Amen.

(Used with permission. By Lisa Cherry of Project 7000. For more information, visit frontlinefamilies.org. Photo Credit: Unsplash.)

Share your continued prayers for the school year in the comments!