Have you been praying for our nation’s children on a regular basis?
I was honored to be invited as a presenter at the Simpsonville City National Day of Prayer event again this year. I was one of five pastors representing the city, each of us praying over a specific aspect of our community. Mayor Curtis asked me to pray specifically for the future of our children and schools. An outline of the prayer I wrote for the event is below. I encourage you to use it a springboard for your own prayers on this topic. For more ways to pray for our nation, you can also check out my book, American Psalms or get a FREE Prayer Guide for the nation by joining my newsletter.
A PRAYER FOR OUR CHILDREN AND SCHOOLS
Lord God, You are called Rabboni.1
You are the great teacher! You reveal truth through Your Holy Spirit.2
You have called us your children3 and teach us Your ways of righteousness and wisdom.
You are an ever-present teacher for Your children.
And so, we turn to You on this National Day of Prayer to bless our children and their schools.
We ask for Your protection from danger and Your provision for their needs.
May Your hand be evident each day our children pass through those gates.
Above all, as we petition You for the renewal of our nation, we ask expectantly for a revival of faith in our schools. Not in the laws or policies, but in the more powerful authority of our children’s hearts.
The example set forth in Your word is so clear that a single generation can make the difference between a nation that embraces Your grace or walks away from You in defiance.4
Let the young people of this decade be the generation that turns to you—defying the pattern of our generation to break open the heart of this country.
We pray You give our children a supernatural awareness of Your presence, even when society denies it.
Plant within them deep questions of eternity whose answers can only be found in You—and do not let their exploration for those answers be hampered by the skepticism and politicism of others.
Instead, guide them to explore those questions with a passion and desire for truth.
Put others in their path to encourage and build them up as they pursue those answers.
And of those in their path, we also pray a great blessing on our teachers. May they seek Your wisdom in instructing our children. Send the Holy Spirit to reveal Your truth to them that they might in turn share that truth with their students, both in what they say and in the way they conduct their lives.
Most importantly, give our teachers the courage to train our children to think freely, without bias or prejudice. Give them the joy of seeing our children discover learning.
Show them how to model critical thinking for our children, so they might have inquisitive minds and a desire to pursue answers with independence.
Because You’ve promised that those who seek truth will find it. Your truth reveals itself to those who look for it.
May our teachers be recognized for their passion, and when they are not recognized, may they know You see their service and remember them.
We pray also for the administrators, principals, and board members in our schools.
It is a great responsibility to teach and lead the upcoming generation, and I pray the weight of that responsibility would be balanced with the strength and encouragement of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Finally, we pray for the parents of our children. They are in need of encouragement and support.
Give them wisdom and direction as they work with the schools and as they raise their children.
Bring undeniable blessings into their household, so the glory of Your name can be reflected in their lives and the lives of their children. Allow them to parent with Your voice, Your Compassion, and Your standards.
Guide them in the opportunities You provide to educate their children, knowing the schools are merely a supplement to what You’ve called parents to teach their children in life. For you have said:
Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.
(Proverbs 22:6 NIV)
But I know so many parents are discouraged today, so bring families together. Strengthen and share Your hope with them. Reveal Yourself in a way that draws families closer to one another as they pursue Your grace and teachings together.
Teach us to love one another—and teach us how to do that by showing us how to truly love the children of our community as You do.
We believe revival is possible in this nation.
We believe You can turn our hearts back to You.
And knowing Your heart for children,5 we believe You can begin that renewal in the hearts of our youth.
May we see it begin today.
Praise be to our teacher and savior, the One who came to Your children with compassion so we might learn of Your grace and mercy.
AMEN
How would you pray for our children and schools? Comment below.
________
1 John 20:16 (Teacher)
2 John 16:13
3 I John 3:1
4 Judges 2:10; Psalm 24:6, 78:8
5Matthew 19:14
Written in the style of our book, American Psalms: Prayers for the Christian Patriot by Joshua J Masters | Copyright 2012, 2016, Joshua J Masters and Kingdom Knight Productions.
“Your word is so clear that a single generation can make the difference between a nation that embraces Your grace or walks away from You in defiance.” How sobering and how true. A beautiful prayer I will pass on.
Thank you for being willing to share this prayer, Debbie. When reading the Old Testament, I’m always struck by how quickly generations turn to and from God. But that should give us hope because it only takes one generation to turn back to Him.
What a beautiful and inspiring prayer, Joshua! As a teacher, mother, and grandmother, I’m deeply touched by your message of faith, love, and commitment. What a difference we can make for our future if we all pray. Thank you for your love and concern for our children and all who participate in the educational process.
Thank you, Katherine. I’m honored that a teacher would be moved by my prayer for our children and schools. If we all pray together, I believe it will make a difference in the next generation.
Joshua, I join and agree with your beautiful prayer for our children and schools.
I love your book “American Psalms.” God has given you a special gift of prayer, brother. I cannot think of anything more to add but a hearty AMEN!
Blessing on you and yours as you continue to shine for Jesus!
Beckie,
I am so very grateful for your encouraging words. May the Lord encourage you today as well.
What a wonderful gift prayer is for our children and those responsible for bringing them up. While I pray for students, teachers, and schools every day, my prayer is less for safety and more for God’s guidance to break this cycle of “worldliness” that is causing all this fear and chaos. If we bring up a generation to be moral and live with a biblical worldview, we can end this reign of terror. Come Lord, guide our hearts and minds to be focused on You.
Thank you, J.D.
I agree that our prayers should be focused on breaking the cycles that turn our society away from God rather than toward Him. I appreciate your comment and feedback. May the Lord’s hand turn the heart of our children back to Him.