The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
(Proverbs 1:7 NIV)
Today is my niece’s birthday, and she’s beginning law school next week. I also have two other nieces and two nephews currently in college. Today also marks the first day of school for three delightful redheaded girls I recently met who are starting a new year at their Christian K–12 school. Like many others, our own boys will begin classes during the last week of August.
These are just a few among the many students returning to the classroom this month and next.
Monday, two of my sons and I met with a guidance counselor to discuss opportunities at the local regional high school tech center. Several of the lead volunteers from our arts camp are also full-time educators: one teaches preschool, another teaches fourth grade, and another both junior high and high school choirs. Across the country, administrators, teachers, and school staff are preparing for the start of a new school year.
Let us pray for all these involved in the education of the next generations.
God of Wisdom,
Lord, thank you for the many young lives beginning a new school year this month—from preschoolers to graduate students. We’re grateful for the opportunity each one has to learn, grow, and be shaped for the future.
We ask that you be present in every decision made regarding their education. Guide school administrators and teachers as they select and implement curriculum. May your Word and your Spirit be the foundation and guide for every subject taught, so that through their studies, students may come to know you more deeply.
Let your wisdom, knowledge, instruction, and righteousness be the lens through which all things are understood. Bless those who teach and lead our children. We pray your peace and protection over every classroom, homeschool, and learning environment.
May this school year be filled with joy, growth, and purpose. In Jesus’s name we pray—AMEN.
Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life. (Proverbs 4:3 NIV)
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. (Proverbs 9:9 ESV)
Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it. (Ecclesiastes 7:12 NIV)
How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver! (Proverbs 16:16 NIV)