3 Scriptures to Pray Over Your Kids This School Year
The start of a school year brings all kinds of emotions for our kids—and for us as parents, too. There’s excitement for new opportunities, a little nervousness about new routines, and, if we’re honest, sometimes a quiet worry about the challenges our children might face.
Whether your kids learn at home, in a private school, or in a public school classroom, one thing remains the same: God’s Word is the firm foundation they need most. As parents, we have the joy and privilege of praying Scripture over our children—not only asking God for His help and guidance, but also letting His truth shape our hearts and theirs.
While there are many familiar verses we love to pray at the start of the year, sometimes it’s refreshing to turn to passages we don’t hear as often—verses that can offer new language and perspective as we intercede for our kids. Here are three lesser-known Scriptures you can begin praying over your children today.
1. Psalm 90:17
“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!”
This verse is a reminder that every lesson learned, every math problem solved, and every piece of art created ultimately belongs to the Lord. As you pray this over your child, ask God to place His favor over their year—not for ease or perfection, but so that the work they do would be steady, fruitful, and lasting. Pray that their efforts, no matter how small, would be established by Him.
Prayer Prompt:
Lord, may Your favor rest on my child. Establish the work of their hands—in every subject, project, and conversation—so that their efforts bear fruit that honors You.
2. Isaiah 54:13
“All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.”
This promise was given to God’s people as part of His covenant care, and it reminds us that the ultimate Teacher in our children’s lives is not us or even their classroom teachers—it is the Lord Himself. As you pray this verse, ask God to be the one shaping their hearts and minds, giving them a peace that surpasses understanding no matter where or how they are learning.
Prayer Prompt:
Father, be my child’s ultimate Teacher. Let every lesson they learn be grounded in Your truth, and give them deep and lasting peace as they grow.
3. 2 Peter 3:18
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
In a world that often measures success by grades and test scores, this verse offers us a beautiful reset. We can—and should—pray that our children would excel in their studies, but more than anything, we long for them to grow in grace and in their knowledge of Christ. This kind of growth will bear fruit for eternity.
Prayer Prompt:
Jesus, help my child to grow not only in academics, but in grace and in the knowledge of who You are. Shape their heart and mind to reflect You more each day.
Keeping God’s Word at the Center
However your kids spend their school days—around the kitchen table, in a bustling classroom, or somewhere in between—these prayers can help keep Christ at the center and His Word in their hearts. As you pray them again and again over the months ahead, you may find that God uses them to shape your own heart, too.
This school year will bring its share of joys and challenges. But no matter what comes, we can rest knowing that our children are in the care of a faithful God whose Word is true, whose wisdom is unmatched, and whose love never fails.
