Back to School Prayers: Free Printable Calendar

The world we live in is filled with unknowns. With the climate around us constantly changing, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with concerns about how this will affect the lives of our kids and their school year.

Many of us will be entering new territory this year. Whether it’s sending your first child to school, homeschooling for the first time, changing schools or co-ops where your child doesn’t know anyone, or countless other possibilities, we cannot rely on our strength alone to soothe our souls of the anxiety these thoughts can bring.

God wants us to bring our cares and concerns to Him and talk about these things!

From my college-age student down to my 7th grader, each one of my kids has different strengths, weaknesses, and struggles. They will all be trying and learning new things—they will need daily intercessory prayer to lift them up and encourage them as they start this new school year.

Making Time for Back-to-School Prayers

You and I both know that the best-laid plans don’t always work the way we want them to. We are going to have to be intentional.

Designate a time each day to pray for your child’s school day.

Even better, include them in this prayer time to help keep those prayers in their thoughts throughout the day. It can be in the car on the way to school, during breakfast or a morning meeting time, or even in the evening as you gather and discuss the activities of the day.

Setting an alarm to remind you about this is one of the best ways to really be intentional! (Plus, we’ve got an awesome prayer calendar below to help you stay accountable!)

Who Should I Include in My Back-to-School Prayers?

In general, there are three categories of people to pray for when it comes to back-to-school prayers.

Pray for your child: Lift up your child in prayer for all the subjects and specific areas of attitude and behavior that he both struggles with and excels at. 

Pray for your child’s teachers: The influence of a teacher in our kids’ lives—either through full-time school out of the house, a co-op teacher, or an extra-curricular activity teacher—will play a meaningful role in your child’s enjoyment and success in learning. Remember to pray for wisdom and grace for your child’s teachers this year. Pray for the provision of their needs for teaching. If you’re a homeschool teacher, make sure to be praying for yourself!

Pray for your child’s friends: Typically, friendships will be made through some type of school, co-op, or activity setting. Ask that God would help develop long-lasting godly friendships and also that He would bring your attention to any negative relationships. Pray for all the students and families represented in these communities.

We’ve detailed requests for these three categories in our free printable Back to School Prayer Calendar below.

What Should My Back-to-School Prayers Be About?

There are many areas of your child’s school life that you can pray for each day! I’ve created this Back to School Prayer Calendar to be very specific and intentional with daily prayers for your children. Use this calendar to pray with and for your child.

Pray through any included verses for that day to meditate on His promises toward us. Use your child’s name to replace the pronouns in the prayer to truly make it personal.

Print out this calendar and place it in a spot where you will be reminded to pray for your children throughout the day. Hang it on your fridge, tuck it into your Bible or prayer journal.

I would suggest printing this calendar on 8.5″ x 11″ cardstock as it will be more sturdy.

Finally, be encouraged that as you are praying for your children, God is doing a mighty work in their lives and preparing them to be used for His glory!