By Kelsey Scism 
As schools around the country are preparing to reopen, my heart has been led to be in prayer for them. I’d love for you to join me.
Day 1: School Administration and Decision Makers
Lord, please be with the superintendents, principals, special education directors, curriculum directors, counselors, school nurses, and school board members across this country. Father, they are faced with such a difficult challenge and so many decisions. These men and women are mentally exhausted from an overload of information, yet a lack of it—all at the same time. Lord, give them wisdom. Surround them with people united to do what’s best for their schools. Please give them strength and courage as they face new challenges every day, sometimes every hour. Thank you for their devotion to their jobs. Remind them that You have chosen them for this position and they were created for such a time as this. Lord, allow them to feel the love and support of those praying for them tonight. Grant them rest so they may wake tomorrow with renewed strength to face the day.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
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Day 2: School Buildings
Almighty God, tonight we pray for our nation’s school buildings. You are the God of angel armies and we ask that you deploy those angels and surround our schools. Lord, please provide physical protection over them, allow them to be a safe and healthy place. Thank you for the people working hard to ensure the physical environment is safe and clean.
But, Lord, we pray that the classrooms and libraries and cafeterias would feel warm and welcoming—not cold and sterile. Father, we pray that your Holy Spirit moves through the halls. That your love would fill the air through smiles and kind words. We pray that the atmosphere of our schools might be a reflection of the love you feel for the children within its walls. Please, Lord, let these buildings be a place where children still feel accepted and valued. May they be a place where they feel comfortable, a place they are excited to go. Lord, we pray that you wrap your strong arms of protection around our school buildings and that your gentle hands would hold the hearts of all who enter them. Thank you for the work done inside of them—may it honor you.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Day 3: Teachers
Lord, tonight we lift up our nation’s teachers. We place them into your hands and ask that they feel your love and protection. When anxiety invades their hearts and minds, fill them with your perfect love that casts out fear. As they face constant uncertainty, allow them to feel your constant presence. Lord, we know you created them for the unique purpose to love, care for, teach, and nurture our kids. We pray that they feel free to do those things no matter the circumstances that surround this school year. Give them energy to keep up with the unending and ever-changing demands they are facing. Protect their hearts as they give so much of them to their students. Protect their health, both physical and mental. Above all, Lord, we pray that these men and women feel appreciated. We pray that they know the unseen work they do is not in vain. Lord, they truly are your handiwork, created to do the work you prepared for them in advance.
Father, you knew this pandemic was coming. You saw the obstacles in their way long before the road was even laid. And still, you created them for this work, during this time. Thank you for sending them into classrooms throughout the country, whether in-person or virtual. We trust that you will equip them to do the work you’ve called them to do. Wrap your loving arms around them, carry them when they feel too weak to move forward, lift them up when they feel defeated. Send your Spirit into their lives so they might feel the love of these prayers. Thank you, Father, for the work they do and the work you do through them.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
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Day 4: School Staff
Lord, you are the Good Shepherd. The God who leaves the 99 to pursue the one who is lost and forgotten. We want to follow your lead. We want to pray for those who are sometimes forgotten, and tonight, that means coming before you on behalf of school personnel—custodial staff, librarians, cooks, paras, aides, secretaries, bus drivers, technology and IT staff, school resource officers, and more. Without these men and women, schools would not operate. We need them, and they need our prayers.
Some of them are facing uncertainty and the reality of being without a job they love, a job they need. Please, God, help them trust in your good plan for their lives. Lord, provide for them in ways only you can do. And there are those who know they will return to their jobs, but their roles are shifting and they may be asked to take on new or different responsibilities. Lord, give them confidence in their ability to fulfill these new tasks and help them as they adjust. Be their Good Shepherd, protect them, keep them from harm, and lead them through this new land. We pray they see their value not only in our schools but in your eyes. Thank you for the important work they do, help us to show them love and appreciation as this new school year begins.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
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Day 5: Students
Jesus, you said, “Let the little children come to me,” and tonight we bring them to you. We set them at your feet and trust in your love for them. Lord, their worlds have been turned around—so much of what they once knew has changed. Though we cannot reverse time, we cannot change the current circumstances, we can believe that you are working. Tonight we ask that you work in the lives of each and every student throughout our nation.
As their Heavenly Father, we pray that you would calm their fears in ways we cannot. Help them to be resilient and flexible. Hold their hands as they walk into classrooms alone. Sit beside them as they work. And when the place they work is within the walls of their homes, help them maintain focus and connection. Lord, be their friend when they feel distant from theirs.
Please, Father, protect them. Protect their hearts—this year will bring pain they’ve never known before. Protect their health and thank you for those working so hard to keep them safe. Protect their innocence—they are being asked to understand grown-up things, to make sacrifices for the well-being of the world around them, to enter a different environment than the one they left last spring. Protect their minds—help them learn and grow despite the constant changes that may impact their year. As parents, it is hard to let them go, but Father we release them into your protection. We trust that you will carry them, support them, encourage them, and love them in the moments we cannot and in ways we cannot. Thank you for inviting our children into your arms, help us to trust you while they are there.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
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