A Prayer For The First Day Of School

A Prayer for the First Day of School

O God of new beginnings,

As this child begins this new school year,

We are reminded that they are Yours

And Yours alone.

We have filled their backpack,

And we ask You to fill their heart

With the joy of new friends

And their mind

With the wonder of learning new things.

You are the God of science

And the God of art,

The God of equations

And the God of song.

Be with them,

This piece of my heart,

As they embark on this new adventure,

Becoming more themselves

And needing me less

Every day.

Give them courage

To extend kindness to teachers,

Fellow students,

And even themselves.

May they stand tall in who they are,

And may they find friends to sit with.

Ignite passions in them

For Your world and everything in it.

Spark creativity and stoke the fires of imagination.

Give them a heart to see the hurting

And strength to show love in the hallways.

Give them friends,

But help them not to find their worth in others.

Give them concentration

And a holy kind of mischief

That keeps them asking why.

Be with their teachers,

Who give so much of themselves.

May they have eyes to see each student

In their own challenges and victories.

God, we know each body and soul

Has a different way of learning.

Help [child’s name] find

What helps them learn best

In the ways You’ve uniquely wired them.

Thank You for all that awaits,

And thank You for the tug in my heart

As I wave goodbye

And watch them enter the doors,

For those are the heartstrings of love.

May this child feel Your love

As they walk the halls,

And may You keep them safe

And bring them safely home.

May they rise to the challenges set in front of them,

And may they never be too busy

To bend down and help someone.

Give them focus

And eyes to see someone who could use a friend.

Give them imagination,

And may they know the power that lies within

A pencil or a paintbrush.

May they learn how understanding history

Can change the future.

And may they see how numbers can come together

To make a difference in our world.

God, as they prepare to start the school year,

I wonder if I have taught them enough,

If I have prepared them for this moment.

I care more about their character

Than their academic success.

For what is successful in the eyes of the Lord?

I think, too, of the students

For whom school is a refuge

From the storms of life at home.

May they connect with others who truly see them,

Not as underresourced or troubled or another statistic

But as Your beloved.

We thank You for the gift of education,

For we know it is a privilege

Not all have access to.

Even in our own city,

We know there are inequities

Baked into the bricks of our schools.

In my child’s anxieties,

May they find comfort in Your presence.

In their worries,

May they find peace in Your promises.

In their challenges,

May they find victory in Your power.

May they be curious and compassionate.

May they share their lunch with a friend in need

Or risk being late to help a lost new student find their way.

O God, we give our own worries

And our parental desire for control

To You.

Thank You for the gift of the first day of school

And for all the days to come.

May this child learn and grow,

And may I learn and grow too.

Teach us how to love You

And our neighbor

More every day.

Amen.

Joshua 1:9; Deuteronomy 6:5-9