Trusting God with the School Year Ahead - Your Nightly Prayer - September 5th

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Trusting God with the School Year Ahead
Your Nightly Prayer
by Rachel Wojo, Host of the Untangling Prayer podcast

TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE

"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans." -  Proverbs 16:3

SOMETHING TO PONDER

There's nothing like the start of a new school year that simultaneously fills a parent's heart with excitement and anxiety. New teachers, new classmates, new academic challenges, new schedules to juggle. Will your child make friends? Will they struggle with the material? What about that math class you've been dreading? And don't even get started on the social dynamics that seem to get more complicated every year.

I remember a particular August when I had five children in four different buildings in our district: high school, middle school, sixth grade, and elementary. Each child had different needs, different schedules, and different challenges I was trying to anticipate. 

The first two hours of each day were spent helping children prepare, but my sleepless nights were spent worrying about everything else: Would my high schooler find his way between classes? Could my middle schooler handle the social pressures? What if my sixth grader struggled with the transition? How would my elementary child do with a new teacher who didn't know her learning style yet?

I had bought all the school supplies for five different grade levels, labeled every folder and binder, and prepared backup plans for my backup plans. But as I lay in bed that Sunday night before the first day, I realized I had prepared for everything except the most important thing: I hadn't given this school year to God.

That night, I finally prayed what I should have prayed weeks earlier: "God, I commit this entire school year to You. All five of my children, their different needs, their friendships, their learning, their teachers, even the things I can't see coming—it's all Yours."

My children still had challenges that year. There were difficult days, frustrating moments, and times when I wondered if I was failing as their mother. But there were also immense blessings: teachers who became advocates, friendships that formed naturally, and academic successes we never could have orchestrated across four different buildings.

Proverbs 16:3 holds a promise that every parent needs to hear: when we commit our plans to God, He establishes them. But what does it really mean to "establish" our plans? It means God takes our imperfect preparations and our limited perspective and weaves them into His perfect purposes. It doesn't mean our plans will unfold exactly as we envision them, but that God will make them secure in ways that serve His greater design for our children's lives.

Maybe you're lying awake tonight, worried about your kindergartener who cried at orientation. Perhaps you're concerned about your teenager's choice of friends, or whether your child with learning differences will get the support they need. Maybe you're anxious about managing work schedules around school pick-ups, or wondering how you'll afford all the activities your kids want to try.

Here's what I've learned as a mom: we can buy every item on the supply list, attend every parent meeting, and hover over every homework assignment, but we cannot control our children's experiences. We can prepare them, advocate for them, and love them fiercely, but ultimately, we must trust God with their days.

This doesn't mean becoming passive or uninvolved. It means doing our part while recognizing that God's part is bigger and better than ours. It means praying over their backpacks, trusting God with their friendships, and believing that He loves our children even more than we do.

The school year ahead holds unknowns for all of us. But it doesn't hold unknowns for God. He already sees the teacher who will encourage your child, the friend who will stand up for them, the lesson that will finally click, and yes, even the challenges that will help them grow in ways you never expected.

Tonight, will you join me in committing this school year—all of it—to the One who holds our children's futures in His hands?

Will you pray with me?

YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER

Heavenly Father,
As a new school year approaches, I bring all my hopes and fears to You. You know my children better than I do: their strengths, their struggles, their dreams, and their needs. I commit this entire school year to You, including their teachers, their classmates, their academic challenges, and their social situations. When I'm tempted to worry about things beyond my control, remind me that You are already at work in their lives. Please help me to be the parent they need, involved but not controlling, concerned but not anxious, protective but not overprotective. Give me wisdom to know when to step in and when to step back. Most of all, help me trust that Your plans for my children are good, even when I can't see the bigger picture. Establish their steps, surround them with Your love, and let this be a year where they grow not just in knowledge, but in their relationship with You.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.

THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON

1. God's Presence in Their Classroom: Imagine your child in their classroom, but instead of focusing on all the things that could go wrong, think of God's presence there with them. He's not confined to Sunday school. He's present in math class, at lunch, and on the playground. Your child is never alone.

2. A Teacher's Heart: Think about a teacher who made a positive impact on your life or your child's life. Remember that God places people in our children's paths for reasons we may not see immediately. He's already preparing hearts to love, encourage, and guide your child this year.

3. Small Moments of Growth: Recall a time when your child overcame something difficult. Maybe it was learning to ride a bike, standing up to a bully, or mastering a challenging subject. God was in those moments, building character and confidence. He's still doing that work in their lives, one small victory at a time.

As you drift off to sleep, remember this: the same God who counts the hairs on your child's head has already gone before them into this school year. He's preparing the way, placing the right people in their path, and working all things together for their good.

Thank you for joining us tonight. We hope this prayer has encouraged your heart. If you're looking for ways to pray specifically for your children throughout the year, we invite you to check out Rachel's 31 Prayers for a Mom's Heart prayer cards. These cards will give you Scripture-based prayers to speak over your children in every season and situation. You can find the link in the show notes. Until next time, remember, God loves your children even more than you do, and He's already at work in their school year ahead.

Photo Credit: Mche Lee/Unsplash

Rachel Wojo is an author, public speaker, and podcaster who hosts Bible reading challenges on her popular blog, rachelwojo.com. Her biblical approach and life circumstances influence women to find strength and hope in everyday situations.  The ideal desperate pray-er to shed light on asking God questions, Rachel’s journey includes losing her mother to leukemia, her adult special needs daughter to a rare neurologically degenerative disease, and her father to illness. She is the author of Desperate Prayers: Embracing the Power of Prayer in Life’s Darkest Moments. Mostly, Rachel is crazy in love with Matt, mom to six on earth and two in heaven.

If you're looking for guidance on deepening your prayer life in tough times, I invite you to check out my new book, Desperate Prayers: Embracing the Power of Prayer in Life's Darkest Moments. You'll find real-life stories, prayers, and practical ways to connect with God when you need Him most. You can learn more at desperateprayers.com. 

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