How to Focus on Scripture during Back to School Season

The school year often involves getting up earlier than during the summer — with, of course, exceptions. Christians may face the temptation to get every minute of sleep they can.

However, we do have to keep in mind that we are in the middle of a spiritual warzone (1 Peter 5:8-9). If we do not wake up every day, engage with Scriptures, and put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18), we walk into a spiritual battle unequipped.

Most of our battles happen during the day. Maybe we didn’t study hard enough for an exam, and we face the temptation to cheat. Or maybe we want to cut off someone to get our kids to school before we hit any major traffic.

But if we engage with Scripture first thing in the morning, we’ll have a better chance at fighting these temptations.

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To cut corners and get more time to prepare one’s makeup or finish a last-minute assignment, we can often try to skirt some of our regular Bible study activities in the morning. One of the easiest to trim can be prayer.

When designating some extra time for prayer, we might have to trim some other parts of our routine. Maybe we’ll have to pack lunches the night before or chose the wardrobe for that day long in advance.

Spending time with God in prayer accomplishes so many things:

• Prayer energizes us
• Gives us peace for the day
• Helps us to connect with Him and grow in our relationships with Him
• Gives us an opportunity to thank Him for all He’s done in our lives
• Readies us for the challenges in the day ahead

We will need all of those components to tackle the school year as students and parents of students.

Pray specifically for those at your school

Often, with prayer, we can forget to offer up certain requests if they aren’t at the forefront of our mind. But with the upcoming school season, we can pray for specific members of the school body and faculty. Below are a few examples of how you can pray specifically for those at your school at the beginning and throughout the year:

• Teachers and instructors: That they may lead our students in wisdom and teach the truth.
• Administrators: That they may choose what is best for the school and for the students and faculty within its walls.
• Coaches and arts/clubs directors: That they may model good sportsmanship and humility, teach students about teamwork, and win or lose, perform well or flop, exercise grace.
• The students: That they may grow in wisdom, avoid temptations within the walls of the school, and learn more about God’s truth every day.
• The parents: That they may show compassion, love, and exemplify excellent examples for their students.
• The faculty and staff: That through their acts of service and devotion to the school, that they may do their jobs to the best of their ability and inspire students through their hard work.

There are hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people within a school’s walls who can use specific prayers.

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Maybe you’re a student who needs to focus more on giving 100 percent of effort into academics (Colossians 3:23). Maybe you’re a parent who often gets thrown out of games or warned by referees because of bad sportsmanship exercised in the stands. Whatever the case, create a theme to guide you through your Scripture readings.

Many sites and apps have Bible studies based on a single theme that pinpoint Scriptures that talk about particular subjects. Some themes include: courage, integrity, relationships, anger, a life of faith, responsibility, etc.

In addition to creating a theme for that school year, try to pinpoint some books in Scripture you’d like to read throughout the school year. Maybe you want to study the whole book of John, or Hebrews, or Daniel.

Whatever the book, set a reasonable amount of reading you can do each day. Whether you can only get through a handful of verses or a few chapters, make sure you can be consistent in the Word of God.

Don’t worry if you get off track

Similar to New Year’s resolutions, we can often make it a goal to start reading Scripture more, and then miss a day. Many Christians have off days and accidentally skip one morning. Maybe you slept through your alarm or really had to finish that one assignment you couldn’t quite get done the night before.

If that happens to you during the school year, don’t let it hinder you. Pick up where you left off the previous day and keep reading.

Encourage your children to do the same. Lead by example, showing how you are planning to make a consistent habit of engaging with the Scripture.

Photo credit: Unsplash/Danielle Macinnes

Hope Bolinger is a literary agent at C.Y.L.E. and graduate of Taylor University's professional writing program. More than 350 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer's Digest to Keys for Kids. She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams. Her column "Hope's Hacks," tips and tricks to avoid writer's block, reaches 6,000+ readers weekly and is featured monthly on Cyle Young's blog, which receives 63,000+ monthly hits. Her modern-day Daniel, “Blaze,” (Illuminate YA) released in June, and the sequel releases a year from now. Find out more about her here.