5 Back-to-School Prayers for Students Who Don’t Love School
Last summer, after a rough start to the school year, I changed how I prayed for our kids. If you know a young person who doesn’t always enjoy school, I pray these back-to-school prayers for students who don’t love school will help guide your prayers as well.
I also invite you to read to the end of today’s post for a list of devotionals for kids written by kids. These books can help you encourage your kids through the school year. You’ll also find a library of free devotional eBooks to help you draw near to God during this time.
5 Back-to-School Prayers for Students Who Don’t Love School
Morning dawned breathless today—the weight of late summer’s humidity hanging oppressively overhead.
As I gazed out the window and prayed over our kids, I thought about the upcoming transition to school. “God, help us all this year,” I whispered. I then wrote the following prayers in my journal.
If you know a young person who doesn’t always enjoy school, here are some back-to-school prayers:
Back-to-School Prayers for Challenging Beginnings
1. Pray for your child to turn to God first for help.
As a mom, I feel a strong urge to swoop in and support our kids when they need help. This is appropriate at times, like when someone is sick or needs a listening ear. At other times, the best gift I can offer is to gently teach them to turn to God in difficult moments.
Here are a few examples:
We teach our kids how to turn to God for comfort when school feels stressful. This can be as simple as praying a short prayer or even wearing a bracelet that reminds them that God is always with them.
We teach our kids how to handle conflicts with teachers and friends by seeking God’s wisdom and taking responsibility.
When our kids make mistakes, we help them learn and grow through the mistakes instead of rushing in to remedy the natural consequences.
In addition to teaching our kids how to turn to God for help, we can pray that they will remember to turn to him in difficult moments. Here is a prayer:
“Father, thank you that you care for this child even more than I do. Please help my child to remember to turn to you in these difficult moments. Make your presence known and be her source of strength, endurance, hope, and peace.”
Father, thank you that you care for this child even more than I do. Please help my child remember to turn to you in these difficult moments. #prayer #prayerforkids Share on X2. Ask God to bring encouragers into your child’s life.
An encourager is someone who supports and believes in your child. A teacher, guidance counselor, principal, coach, or friend can be an encourager in your child’s life. Ask God to provide people who will speak the truth and encourage your child regularly.
Here is a prayer to pray:
“Lord, thank you for understanding my child better than I ever could. You know which people might be encouraging to him. Please bring encouragers into my child’s life—people who will cheer him on, support him, and uplift him on the difficult days.”
3. Pray for opportunities to directly share biblical encouragement with your child.
Part of teaching our kids to turn to God for help includes teaching them to stand on God’s Word when their feelings are overwhelming. For this reason, our family memorizes a Bible verse weekly. I’m pleasantly surprised when the kids recite these verses in difficult times.
Ask God to give you opportunities to share his Word and offer biblical wisdom as your child navigates this school year. This includes finding set-apart times when you can talk individually. Immediately before bed can be a good time for these conversations.
I take a short walk with our teenage daughter after school most evenings. We talk about our days, and this is a good time to speak truth into her life.
Here is a prayer to pray for opportunities to encourage your child:
“God, thank you for the gift of my child. Thank you that even amid challenges, you knew that I was the right person to parent this child. Please guide me in pointing my child to you during this difficult time. Fill me with your wisdom as aim to be a source of your Truth.”
4. Ask God to show you a teacher or guidance counselor who can support your child.
Having a contact point at your child’s school is extremely helpful. If your child is struggling, ask God to lead you to a compassionate guidance counselor or caring teacher who can encourage your child.
Ask your child if there is an adult at school who seems safe and kind. Pray about reaching out to this person to explain the challenging situation and ask for support. For some kids, having one adult who is willing to ask how they’re doing makes a big difference at school.
Here is a prayer to pray:
“Father, thank you for surrounding my child with supportive and caring people. Please lead us to someone who can be a special source of support and care. Fill this person’s heart with compassion for my child and give this person wisdom to encourage my child.”
5. Ask God to show you what you need to know about the situations your child faces at school.
God knows the hidden details of every challenging situation. Ask him to show you what you need to know about your child’s negative feelings toward school. He might lead you to ask different questions or show you a dimension of the situation you didn’t see.
James 1:5 promises that God gives wisdom to those who ask for it. Here is a prayer to pray:
“Lord God, please show me what you want me to know about this situation. Give me wisdom so that I can help and encourage my child. Fill my heart with compassion toward my child so that I can show him that I’m on his side.”
Back-to-School Prayers for Students
As we prepare for another school year, let’s use this time to turn to God and ask for his help and guidance. He goes ahead of our kids, and he won’t miss a moment of their journeys.
As we prepare for another school year, let's use this time to turn to God and ask for his help and guidance. He goes ahead of our kids, and he won't miss a moment of their journeys. #prayer #parenting Share on XFor eight additional back-to-school prayers for students, read right here.
Calling All Parents and Grandparents!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 7, 12, and 16, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. I also recently released a teen devotional called Anchored, designed to help teens learn key biblical narratives and apply them to their lives. You can find these books here or read more below. 
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
Devotions for Boys by Boys
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
These Books Are Free on Kindle Unlimited: God Wants to Heal, Restore, and Refresh You
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. He also wants to help you establish a rhythm of meeting with him daily as you trust him with the hard parts of your life. Click here to explore two books that will guide you: Be Still and Trust and Lean Into Grace. They are free on the Kindle Unlimited program and for sale in print.
Download Your Free Devotional Here
Set Free: Let God Do What You Cannot explores ten realms in which most of us need God to work in our lives and bring deliverance. We’ll talk about finding freedom from fear, worry, insecurity, bad habits, emotional pain, and more. This short online devotional will bless you as you let God accomplish what you’ve been unable to achieve through willpower. Get your download for free with promo code GRACE or for a donation of 3.99 here. Thank you. This small gift helps keep this ministry running.
I also offer a library of free online devotional eBooks for free. I invite you to explore the collection right here!
