Prayers for Back to School Week, Part 2

Pray that your child will love learning.

I have a good friend who is an incredibly gifted worship leader. His sensitivity to the Holy Spirit helps him guide congregations through powerful and life-changing encounters with God through worship. My friend is also a very skilled musician. He works hard at sharpening and improving his musical skills.

I once asked him about the balance between the Holy Spirit’s anointing and talent: was one more important than the other? His answer surprised me. Even though his worship leading is anointed, he seemed to really emphasize the importance of hard work and talent. He said, “I want to be an incredibly sharp tool in the Spirit’s hands. The better I am musically, the more I have to offer the Spirit for his work. I don’t want to limit what the Spirit can do through me because of my lack of skill.”

What my friend believes about musical talent is equally true about learning. We live in one of the most highly educated cultures in history. The opportunities for learning that we and our children have are limitless. We need to be good stewards of the opportunities God affords us. But beyond that, we need to learn and grow, because doing so makes us sharper, more effective tools in God’s hands.

Pray that your child will love learning. Pray that he will take full advantage of the opportunities given him to go to school, to study, and to gain new experiences. Pray that your child will be a finely tuned instrument in God’s hands.

Consider the example of Daniel. When he and his friends were deported to Babylon, one of the reasons they were chosen was because of their high aptitude for learning. The Bible states that the king specifically asked for “young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace” (Dan. 1: 4).

King Nebuchadnezzar knew the importance of good learning and education in leadership. That’s why he looked for young men who showed such great potential. Daniel’s discipline for learning was another reason that he rose to such a high position of prominence in Babylon. Not only was he a young man of great faith, but he also had a great mind. He was a sharp, double-edged sword in God’s hands, and God used him mightily.

The children we are raising in our homes today are the future leaders of our cities, our churches, and our nation. We obviously need to pray for their faith and passion for God. We want them to be sold-out to his cause. But we also need to encourage them to learn. We want them to take full advantage of the chances they have to grow and expand their minds. We want them to be hungry for knowledge and curious about the world they live in. We want them to know that all truth belongs to God— spiritual truth, academic truth, and scientific truth— and not to be afraid of or intimidated by what they may read in a textbook or learn in the classroom.

Pray Daniel 1: 4 for your child. Pray that he will develop an aptitude for every kind of learning, be well informed, be quick to understand, and be qualified to serve in the palace of the King of Kings. Pray that he will develop good study habits and will thrive in a classroom setting.

Proverbs 22: 29 says, “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men.” Pray that for your child. Pray that because of his skills and aptitude, he will serve before leaders and people of influence.

And pray Proverbs 1: 5 for him: Lord God, I pray that my child would be wise and quick to listen. Let him add to his learning, develop discernment, and gain guidance.

From– Pray Big for Your Child: The Power of Praying God’s Promises for Your Child’s Life 

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