Your child's classmates: they are the kids that your child spends most of their day with, so as parents, it is important that we pray for them.  It is also good for your child to practice praying for them since they will be spending so much time together.  Who knows the fruits you will see from the practice of your child praying for his or her classmates?! Here are some ideas to help you get started:

Pray Over Your Class List

It is powerful to pray over someone by name. If you have your class list already, pull it out and go down the list, praying for each student. Here are some ideas:

• Ask questions about the classmates that your child knows.  Things like, "What do you like about Emma? Let's thank God for that." 

• Pay attention to what your child is saying, take note if they pray for anything specific.

• If your child starts to speak negatively about someone, try to reframe.  Remind your child that God wants us to speak kindly about others and ask how we can pray for that student instead of talk negatively about them.

• For the classmates that you don't know, pray that they would be excited for school, that they would be comforted from any fears, that they would have a wonderful school year.

Pray That Your Child Would be an Influencer. Again.

We already talked about this, but I think it is so important.  Peer pressure is so real and it starts at a young age. Pray that your child would be a positive influence on his or her peers.  Similarly, pray against temptation. Maybe memorize 1 Corinthians 10:13 together or turn it into a Pocket Prayer! 

 God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what  you can bear.  But when you are tempted, He will provide a way out so that you can endure it. -1 Corinthians 10:13

Pray That Your Child's Class Would Work Hard.

Trust me, your child's teacher will be grateful if you pray this for the class.  Pray that your child's class would listen well, work hard, learn a lot, and have fun!

I will be working to memorize this short prayer with my first grader and two preschoolers. I hope it becomes a mantra for our school year (and really, the rest of our lives too). I welcome you to join me:

"Jesus, thank you for my teacher, my school, and all my classmates. Help us to be confident, kind, graceful, and ready to learn."