Back to School Prayers for Learners

Kids and teachers alike experience a mix of excitement, hope, and stress as they navigate the school year. In this post, I share four prayers to help guide us as we pray for learners at different stages of their school journey. The first prayer is for students going to school for the first time, the second prayer is from a student finishing up the last year of school, the third prayer is for those who may be carrying extra anxiety as they negotiate school life, and the fourth prayer is for those students who may need extra support in the classroom. My hope is that their words will inspire your own prayers for the learners in your life. 

A few ways you can pray for students right now: 

• Safety in and out of the classroom
• Courage, confidence, and peace
• Kindness and patience from teachers and peers

Prayers for Courage on the First Day, written by Anna, mom of a preschooler 

Heavenly Father, everything is new for my child and me. I pray for my own child and for all the kids going to school for the first time. There are so many new things: new teachers, new friends, new rules, new routines. Excitement brings nervousness for children and parents alike. 

Give each child courage as they walk into the classroom each day. Help them feel safe, be good communicators, and even better listeners. Remind them that it's okay not to know everything right away because you are beside them, helping them grow. 

Surround each child with safe adults who will care for them and help them thrive. Help them find good and caring peers and give them many opportunities to be kind and loving to others. 

For us as parents and caregivers, calm our nervous and anxious thoughts as we send our children off to school each day. Give us peace as we let go of all the things we cannot control and hold our children’s hands when we cannot be near. Keep them safe, fill them with joy, give them excitement for learning, and remind both of us that you are always with us and we are deeply loved by you. 

Prayer from a Student Going into the Last Year, written by Moey, a 12th-grade student 

Dear Lord, this last year of school feels overwhelming. I'm headed into 12th grade, and that means that there are going to be a lot of lasts: the last school dance, the last football game, and the last exam. After that, I have no idea what's going to happen. 

Everyone talks about getting to choose my own future, but it's scary to make all these decisions when I don't feel ready. Lord, guide me in these choices. Show me what is best for me, and give me peace when I feel uncertain. 

Help me enjoy this last year with my friends and teachers, making memories that I will carry with me. Remind me of your presence, and give me your peace, especially when the homework, school, and social schedules are busy. 

Thank you for always being there for me in my schooling, from preschool to now, my senior year. I know that you love me and care for me. Remind me that you hold me close and will lead me to the future you have already planned for me. Thank you, God. 

Prayer for Anxious Students and Teachers, written by Laura, a teacher and parent

Lord, we come to you on behalf of every student who carries the weight of uncertainty, and every teacher who feels alone, tired, or misunderstood. Draw close to each person who walks into a classroom with a trembling heart. 

Strengthen and guide teachers with compassion so that they may nurture every learner in their care. May they trust that you are at work in the heart and mind of every student. Give them great wisdom with lesson plans. 

Fill students with courage and hope as they discover more about the world and about themselves. Remind them that learning is not something to fear but a beautiful mystery unfolding as you walk beside them.  

To all who feel anxious about the unknown, Lord Jesus, help them know that their identity is defined not by fear or failure, but by your everlasting love and delight in them. 

A Prayer for Neurodivergent Students, written by Emily, mom of an autistic teenager

As I send my neurodivergent child off to school, I am feeling hope and dread. I have little control over what they will encounter once they walk through the school doors. Give me the courage to trust you and peace in my anxious heart as I hand my child over to others. 

Thank you for the resilience my kid, and all the other neurodivergent students who need extra support, have to step into a world that can be too loud, too bright, and too fast. Help them recognize when it’s all becoming too much. Give them the foresight to reach for the strategies they’ve learned and the confidence to use them. Strengthen their voice and communication to advocate for what they need when they need it. And when they can’t speak for themselves, surround them with peers and staff who are safe, gentle, and willing to hold space for them until their voice returns.

Give them an abundance of self-compassion when the meltdowns and shutdowns feel unavoidable. Bring them to safe spaces where they can reset without shame and safe people who meet them with patience and care. May the ignorant comments and thoughtless decisions of others pass by without harm. Be their protector. 

I pray that school is a place where they are understood and accepted, where they find spaces where they are understood and accepted, where they have the freedom to stim and the ability to unmask. Guide them to authentic friendships and companions who see them clearly, love them deeply, and walk beside them with pride. 

And if it is a rotten, horrible, overstimulating day for them, give me and their family members grace, courage, and understanding to support them as they decompress in the safe spaces of home. 

Hold their heart gently today. And hold mine too.

Thank you for your faithful prayers for the students in your life. What are the prayer concerns that you may have for the learners you know? How can we pray for you and for them? Leave a prayer request here: Prayer Request. And thank you for praying in faith and obedience.