A Prayer for Your Family’s New School Year - Your Daily Prayer - October 13

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A Prayer for Your Family’s New School Year
By Heidi Vegh

Bible Reading
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” - Proverbs 22:6

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The crisp air of fall has arrived, and a fresh new school year is upon us. A new school year can bring excitement and anticipation and, for some, a little anxiety. Our children are most likely walking into a new classroom, meeting new teachers, and adjusting to a new way of learning.

We do all we can as parents to prepare them. We buy the supplies and meet the teachers. We organize their schedules and take them shopping for clothes. We do well to prepare them on the outside, but do we think about preparing their hearts?

My daughter attends a public school just a mile from our home. She is entering fourth grade this year, and I am starting to realize that as she gets older, she will encounter influences, ideas, and temptations that may conflict with her faith.

When my older boys were in high school, I prayed that God would blind their eyes to the things in the hallways and the conversations they might encounter that could threaten to pull them away from their faith. I believe bold prayers over our children are one of the best things we can do to protect them from outside influences.

In Daniel 1, Daniel and his three friends—Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who were later given the Babylonian names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—are taken into a completely new culture. They are being trained to serve the king and are surrounded by new ideas, new expectations, and new influences.

Daniel is living in Babylon, a completely foreign culture with ideologies that go against his faith in God. He is surrounded by different beliefs and values, and even his name and identity have changed.

Our children will, maybe for the first time, be introduced to ways of thinking or living that are foreign to them and unlike the biblical thinking they have grown up with.

Daniel was given a new name and identity, but his identity was ultimately rooted in who he belonged to. We need to make sure our children know where their identity is rooted and, most importantly, who they belong to.

We cannot always be present. We won't be sitting beside them in every classroom, listening to every conversation, or standing next to them when temptation arises. This is when we learn to trust God to protect them.

We need to remind our children that they are not alone. Even when their environment seems scary or unfamiliar, they will always have Jesus with them.

One important thing Daniel did was “resolve that he would not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8).

As parents, one of the most important things we can help our children remember is their foundation of faith and their commitment to God.

The world is very loud, and our children will encounter voices, choices, and influences that we cannot control. We are not able to be with them in every classroom or every conversation. But we can pray like Daniel. We can pray that they will know who they are, whose they are, and have the courage to live faithfully wherever God places them.

We can pray that they will stand boldly in their faith, that they will have the courage to stand up for the things of God, and that they will be able to say no to temptations they know are not right.

This school year, may we pray not only for our children's safety and success but also for their character, discernment, friendships, and faith.

Let’s Pray

Lord, you know everything that my children will encounter in this new school year. You know the people they will meet, the things they will learn, and the influences they will encounter.

I pray for complete protection over them. I pray that they will feel your presence in every classroom, in every setting, and in every conversation. Help them to recognize your voice amid competing voices and give them the courage to remain faithful when I am not there to guide them.

I pray that as they are exposed to different ideologies, anti-biblical ideas, and things that go against the truth of the Bible, they will be able to recognize them and bring their questions home for us to discuss. I pray that we can have open conversations about a mainstream culture that doesn't always align with the truth of God.

Help me to fill our home with truth and the things of God. I pray that our home is so filled with your presence that the absence of godliness is apparent and that they crave the peace of our home.

I pray my children will be a light for you wherever they go and that your truth and light will shine through them onto whoever they encounter. I pray their peers are drawn to their light and, ultimately, drawn into your truth.

Thank you for the privilege of raising my children. Give me the boldness to do it well.

In your precious name we pray,

Amen.

Go Deeper: How to Stop Letting Fear Drive Your Need for Control (ft. Lysa TerKeurst)

When we fight for control, it's rarely because we have an insatiable desire to play boss. Most often, fear is driving our behavior—especially when we’ve experienced situations that left us feeling powerless, uncertain and deeply wounded. After those experiences, we naturally want to do whatever we can to avoid landing in a similar crisis or painful spot. And so, we might overthink, try to fix other people or work harder to secure a particular outcome, while believing we’re simply being responsible and caring. So how can we recognize when healthy responsibility has crossed into control?

In this episode, Jennifer Slattery talks with bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst about her latest release, Making Peace with What I Can't Control, and the fears that can drive controlling behavior and how to respond differently. Lysa shares how to distinguish responsibility from control, recognize the role our perceptions play in fear and focus our energy on what we actually can manage. She also discusses trusting God when we don’t understand what He’s allowing, remembering His past faithfulness and releasing outcomes into His capable hands. If this episode helps you face fear with God's confidence, be sure to follow Faith Over Fear on Apple or Spotify so you get new episodes every week!

Join the conversation! Share how today’s devotional spoke to you on the Crosswalk Forum.

Heidi Vegh is a writer, speaker, and ministry leader based in Western Washington. A remarried mother of four, she is navigating blended family life after losing her first husband to cancer in 2013. Through her writing and speaking, Heidi encourages those who have experienced loss, offering hope and practical guidance for the journey toward healing and renewed life.

She is the author of The Hard Journey to the Good: A Widow’s Journey from Loss to New Life, a heartfelt account of grief, faith, and rebuilding after devastating loss, available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

You can find Heidi at her website mrsheidivegh.com where she shares devotionals and reflections on grief, healing, motherhood, faith, and the beauty and complexity of blended family life through her monthly newsletter. She holds a degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University and serves as Ministry Director at her local church, where she is passionate about helping women grow in faith and experience the transforming love of Jesus.

You can find her on Instagram @mrsheidivegh and SubStack: https://substack.com/@heidivegh

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