Heavenly Father,

We praise You, God, for Your faithfulness and sovereignty.  Thank you, Father, for Your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who sits at Your right hand interceding on our behalf. How grateful we are that You know our every need, even before we do. Thank you, Lord, that as a parent, we can place our children into Your capable hands trusting that You are working things for good during every stage of their lives.

Today, Father, as a new school year is upon us, we boldly pray that You would bless our children’s school with your favor and protection. May every child who enters into his or her school building know that they are valued, safe, cared for, and made by God for a divine purpose. We lift up all our school administrators, staff, and teachers to You. We thank you for their service, dedication, and devotion to nurture and educate our children. Father God, we ask that You will grant us wisdom on how best to partner with our children’s schools so that all teachers are able to do the job You have called them to do to the best of their abilities.

Gracious God, we thank you for the gift of our children and for Your daily provision over their lives. As much as we love our children, Lord, we know that Your love for them is perfect, unconditional, and everlasting. We thank you, Father, for the talents, abilities, and skills You have placed in our children. By the power of the Holy Spirit, may You continue to grow, fashion, shape, and mold our children into the men and women of God You have designed them to be.  Right now, Lord, we surrender our children to You resting in Your guidance over their lives and school year. May You surround them with teachers who will esteem, encourage, and challenge them to be all that You created them to be. Father, we ask that You will instill in our children a deep desire to be disciplined, self-controlled, honest, and respectful in words and actions to their teachers and classmates.  We also pray, God, for life-giving friendships for our children, where kindness, encouragement, and laughter are full and abundant. Please enlarge Your compassion in our children so they will have the courage and confidence to be genuine friends to anyone in need.  May the familiarity of Your voice as well as Your deep love within them be greater than any negative peer pressures they may encounter.

By the authority given to us in Christ Jesus, we rebuke all forms of bullying and violence in our children’s school. We ask in the name of Jesus, for Your shielding from any form of self-hatred, destructive or suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, drug or alcohol abuse, pornography, and sexual immorality. May Your grace enable our children to make decisions that will honor You. Thank you God, for equipping our children daily. May they continue to grow in knowledge and truth, glorifying Your goodness in all they do.

In Jesus’ mighty name,

Amen