Back to School Prayers

With the start of the school year upon us in my community as well as many others, here are great items to pray about regarding your local schools. Even if you no longer have children in school, our schools and everyone who is connected with them need our prayers.  

Pray for School Boards: 

• Give thanks for the individuals who serve our community in this way. 
• Pray for wisdom and discernment as they make decisions that impact our community. 
• Pray they may honor God with their speech and actions. 
• Pray for positive interactions with administrators, teachers, staff, students, and families.
•  Pray for good working relationships between board members. 

 Pray for staff: 

• Pray for administrators to be good leaders. 
• Pray for teachers to connect with their students and families. 
• Pray for teachers who are new to their district or have changed positions. 
• Pray they will adjust well to the schools. 
• Pray for secretaries, bus drivers, and custodians. These important roles are often the first connection a student makes with a school. Pray these individuals will be caring and empathetic to students and families. 
• Pray that Christian staff members will have opportunities to live out their faith on a daily basis. May they be faithful to their beliefs as Christians and their calling as teachers. Pray for appropriate opportunities to share their faith. 
• Pray that all school staff will get along and support each other. 
• Pray by name for teachers that you know personally or for teachers your children/grandchildren will have.

 Pray for students: 

• Pray for students who are new to our community or who are attending a new school that they are able to make friends and to feel welcome. 
• Pray for students who are just starting school for the first time this year.
•  Pray for them as they adjust to new routines, new teachers, and new friends. 
• Pray for all students to be kind and welcoming to others. 
• Pray for students who have difficult home situations or lack food, supplies, and other resources. Pray that school may be a safe place and they will have adults they can trust. Pray that school personnel can help connect them to appropriate resources. 
• Pray for students while they are on the playground and/or athletic fields. Pray that they will honor God in their speech and actions. Pray that these will be places where students will be lifted up and encouraged rather than torn down. 
• Pray for safety while traveling to school whether that be by bus, driving, walking, etc. Especially pray for safety for high school students who may be newer drivers. 
• Pray for the physical and mental health of everyone who is connected with our schools. Pray for students who may be considering suicide that they will seek help and that friends and others will reach out to them. 
• Pray specifically for students you know by name.

New Take on The Lord's Prayer

Many individuals are familiar with the Lord's Prayer and memorized it ages ago. Different church traditions vary on the frequency and extent that it is used. However, often times because it is used frequently in a variety of situations and because you may have memorized it as a child, the Lord's Prayer may be just words instead of a meaningful example of how to pray. The new book May It Be So: Forty Days with the Lord's Prayer by Justin McRoberts and Scott Erickson sets out to change that.

May It Be So provides devotional thoughts related to each phrase of the Lord's Prayer. The sections are a bit longer, but not too long that they can't be read at one time. These 7 sections provide marvelous information on the Lord's Prayer and suggestions on how to plumb the phrase to its full extent. Some readers may be wondering how these 7 sections on phrases form 40 days with the Lord's Prayer. In between each longer section, there are numerous quotes and images that relate to the phrases. These quotes, which the author calls guided prayers, and the images are designed to be contemplated and to inspire prayer as well. While the longer sections are wonderful, the images and guided prayers are extremely thought-provoking. Although only a line or two, these guided prayers are meaty and designed to be chewed on and deeply considered.

This book provides a wonderful devotional resource to use on its own or in conjunction with other Bible reading. As it provides 40 days of reflections, it would fit well as Lenten reading but would be marvelous for use during Ordinary Time over the summer months or in the time period between now and Advent. As it is only a 40 day resource, this book could be pulled out numerous times and continue to provide spiritual nourishment. Highly recommended as a resource for yourself or as a gift for others.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received May It Be So via NetGalley from Waterbrook. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.