We are back this week to pray for our seniors. This is the home stretch for the kids, the last few weeks after Spring Break. Honestly, I don’t know about you but I’m finding it very hard to “un-see” all the events we had on the calendar for April. But God is still God, and He is still in charge, and this is still our kids’ senior year, and we are still going to pray for them.

A note about today’s prayer: the opening Psalm is selected verses from Psalm 24. I also reference Hebrews 4, and the closing prayer is from Alcuin of York, around 770 A.D.

Father,

It’s so good that we can gather and lay everything at Your feet. This week it is worries and grief and exhaustion. But still, the first thing when we come to You is praise:

The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, 
Who does not lift up his soul to what is false and who does not swear deceitfully.
He will receive a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
The Lord, mighty in battle.

Thank you, Father, that You are strong and mighty, but that You have also given us Your son Jesus, a savior who has experienced every disappointment and sadness that our kids will ever go through. Comfort them; this is a time of real mourning for the end of a senior year that will not happen as they expected, as any of us expected. That loss is real. Our kids might be mourning something for the first time in their young lives. Thank you for the give of a Savior who can sympathize with our kids in every way. And help us as parents to walk through this carefully with them. Give us grace. Give us patience.

Even though the days feel endless, this is still a time for decision making. The world is fraught with uncertainty, true always but we feel it more now. Grant to each senior extra insight to finalize decisions for next year–and increase their faith, too, Lord! Grant that extra measure of faith so that if their plans don’t come to fruition because of world events, or personal ones, that Your plans for their lives are still intact. That You will indeed use even this time for good.

Meanwhile, the time out of school has opened up spaces in our kids’ lives, and our own, that didn’t exist previously. We invite You into those spaces, to see the blessings You give that are still present, and the blessings that have a chance to emerge in the quiet. Give our kids eyes to see those blessings, Lord, and give them ears to hear Your voice.

And finally we give you thanks for all the good we see around us, the front-line doctors, nurses, hospital caregivers of all kinds, for the scientists trying to wrangle with this problem. We pray for those who have lost employment, and we pray for a speedy and wise end to this situation.

And while we don’t know each individual family’s needs, we lift up each member of the the class of 2020 to You. [Insert the names of the specific people you are praying for here.]

And today we close with the words of an ancient prayer:

Eternal Light, shine into our hearts,
Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil;
Eternal Power, be our support,
Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance;
Eternal Pity, have mercy upon us;
that with all our heart and mind and soul and strength we may seek Your face and be brought by Your infinite mercy to Your holy presence; 
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

I hope you have a great weekend! Please feel free to share this prayer. If you have anything specific you’d like to add, please leave a comment.