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It has become a little bit of a tradition in years past that I try to share a way that we can be praying for our kids as they head back to school. This wasn’t a pattern I intended to start; it originated because of my own petitions as a mom. A new school year is a good time to think about the goals we have for our kids and to prayerfully place those plans at our Father’s feet, asking for His will for each life that He has entrusted to our care.

This year, as I thought about next school year what kept coming to mind is the influence others have on our kids and the influence our kids can have on those around them. Therefore, as we approach a new year of educational attainment, I invite you to join me in praying for our kids’ friends, and the type of friend that our kids will be.

Here are 7 specific ways you can pray for friendships and your kid this school year:

1. Pray that they have friends that point them to Jesus – As our kids age, their friends have an increasing influence on their lives (and proportionately, their parents a lessening one.) Let’s pray that our kids have friends that will direct their thoughts & attention to Jesus, and that will help them look to Scripture to make decisions. Pray that these friends will encourage our kids to respect the authority of God, and all the other authority in their lives. “Bad company corrupts good character” (I Cor. 15:33) and conversely, good company helps build excellent character. Let’s pray that our kids are surrounded by good company.

2. Pray that they are a friend who points others to their Savior. – Just as we pray that our kids will have friends that point them to Jesus, let’s pray that our kid is the type of friend who points people to Him. May we ask God to help our child rely on Him, and to use that security to show those that are around them the grace and mercy He gives. When people are in a quandary, may they be able to count on our kid to give wise advice that is not based on a fallible opinion or limited perspective, but on the truth of God’s Word. May our child have a character that is increasingly conformed to that of Christ’s and may they see the Savior reflected in how our child lives. 

3. Pray that their friends are wise – If we want to be wise, Proverbs 13:20 states that we need to do life (i.e. “walk”) with the wise. Therefore, if we want our kids to be wise (and we should) we should pray that they surround themselves with wise friends. We should pray specifically that our kids’ friends are wise in the ways of God, that they are being brought up in the fear and knowledge of the Lord. However, recognizing that our kids will have friends who are not being raised in that manner, we can still be praying that they have wisdom in what they commend and what they pursue. In other words, I want to pray that my kids’ friends from non-Christian homes also have sensitive consciences and have hearts that are inclined to what is pure, noble, honorable, lovely and of good repute. I know that they will have an influence on my children, and these are the things that I want my kids to also be inclined towards. 

4. Pray that they are a friend to those who do not have many. – In considering the type of friend that we want our kids to be, it would be good to pray that they are the type of person who is a friend to those who don’t have many. Recognizing that while we were still His enemies, Christ died for us (Ro. 5;8) should compel us to want to be people who show love, grace, and mercy to those who are lonely, weak, and hurting. This may seem like a lot to ask of our kids, but we should desire to train them from a young age to appreciate how fearfully and wonderfully God has made every single person. Let us pray that as we show our kids what it means to love like Jesus does, that they will be an extension of that type of grace and kindness to those at their school who are most in need of a friend. 

5. Pray that they have friends who encourage them. We all know how cruel kids can be and how careless words far too easily usher forth from their lips. We all probably have memories of things that were said to us that broke our heart. In those moments, it is often our friends that we turn to for encouragement. Let us pray that our kids have friends that help them see through the emptiness of unkind words and who help strengthen their resolve to be who God created them to be. May our kids have friends who build them up, not tear them down, and may their friends help them appreciate the value and dignity of being an image bearer of God. 

6. Pray that they speak words of grace to their friends. In a world filed with unkind words, may our kids be people whose tone is different. Instead of responding in kind when they are the recipients of harshness, may they be gentle and thoughtful, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. May others count on them to say things that are uplifting, rather than things that disparage. May what they say and how they say it, bring glory to God. 

7. Pray that their friendships will help them love God and love others more, and that Jesus will use those relationships to grow His Kingdom. – Of course, the summation and the motivation of all our prayers for our kids should be that they know and trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We should be praying that God uses all our kids’ friends to help accomplish this in their lives. May even the difficult friendships help refine them and reveal to them how futile it ultimately is to put our security in anything but Christ. Additionally, may we pray that God would use us to draw others to Him because of the people that we meet because of the friends our kids make. As we interact with parents and guardians of our kids’ friends, may we be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us (I Peter 3:15). May we be representative of His love, and may we look for ways that we can serve the families of our kids’ friends. May we ask God to give us wisdom and insight into how we should invest our time to maximize our evangelistic opportunities. And may we pray that when we look back at this season in our kid’s lives, that we will see how He used the friendships they had and our faithfulness to act, to bring many into a right relationship with Him. 

Our kids’ friends will have a significant influence on them, and they will have an opportunity to have a significant influence on their friends. May we faithfully pray that God uses those relationships for the good of our kids, and the good of their friends. May we recognize that every friendship is an opportunity to shine the love and faithfulness of Christ. And may we make the most of that opportunity, for the sake of Eternity.