Prayer for Students – Why is it important?
Prayer for students is vitally important in culture today. School campuses are full of temptation and negative influences targeting students. Prayer is a way to influence students to make wise choices and excel in their studies.
There are many topics in the curriculum that will impact their decision making for years to come. Our youth and young adults approach a time of their lives where they will make significant decision about careers, marriage, children, and other life choices.
Can we live without prayer? No. We need communication with God. He can do anything without man, but He will not because He created us to love Him and love others. He establishes His kingdom through us by prayer. Prayer is one way to build our faith and expectations of His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Prayer can greatly impact students’ lives, faith, and outlook on their future.
Prayer for Students – What do I pray?
In my prayer for students, what do I pray for? Get to know students who are in your family, neighborhood, and church. As you interact with them, you will realize the problems and situations that they face. Here are some suggestions for how to pray for them:
- Many struggle with classes or courses. Pray for wisdom as they listen to lectures and complete homework. Pray for good recall during testing.
- Pray for students as they encounter philosophies or theories that are contrary to their beliefs.
- Pray that their parents will provide good guidance and help them make wise decisions.
- The financial burden of tuition and books is costly. Ask God to provide for their needs.
- Pray for those who struggle with balancing a job and class attendance.
- Pray for students to have accountability and encouragement from a group of Christians.
- Pray that God lead them into a relationship with Him and strengthen their faith.
- Follow the guidance given in the Bible. These verses can be prayed for students.
“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing” (Philippians 2:14-16).
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
“Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22).
Prayer for Students – How do I pray?
How can I implement prayer for students on a regular basis? Here are some practical suggestions.
- Prayer walk on campus – Consider having a prayer walk around the school or university in your community. These campuses usually have parking areas and streets near them. That’s a great place to start. Walk around the area while praying for the students who attend. Pray for success in their studies, for them to make good choices, and to say no to temptation. Pray also for the professors, teachers, and administration.
- Prayer Team – Other Christians may be interested in praying for students in your local area. Think about starting a weekly prayer team for your school.
- Influence specific students – Email short prayers to students you already know. Encourage them in their studies and ask them for ways you can pray for them.
Prayer for students is essential. You have an important role in their lives. Many students leave their faith during these crucial years. With your prayers, their spiritual lives could be enhanced and remain strong.
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WHAT DO YOU THINK?
– We have all
sinned
and deserve God’s judgment.
God
, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him.
Jesus
, the creator and eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He
died
for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was
buried
, and
rose from the dead
according to the
Bible
. If you truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your
Savior
, declaring, “
Jesus is Lord
,” you will be saved from
judgment
and spend eternity with God in heaven.
What is your response?
Yes, today I am deciding to follow JesusYes, I am already a follower of JesusI still have questions
www.allaboutprayer.org
It’s back to school time! Our children are heading out to school and I’m sure as parents, step parents, grand parents and foster parents you have concerns.
Well, the only way to handle these concerns is to take it to God in prayer. Afterall in Psalm 138:8, He says that he will perfect everything that concerns you!
We are using a very popular bible verse for this prayer in 4 version. It is always great when you read the same scripture in different version because it causes you to think deeper about it and it is a great way to meditate on the scripture.
Proverbs 22:6 New International Version (NIV)
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
Proverbs 22:6 King James Version (KJV)
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 Amplified (AMP)
Train up a child in the way he should go , and when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 The Message (MSG)
Point your kids in the right direction— when they’re old they won’t be lost.
Prayer for Students
Jehovah Rohi, the only true shepherd of your sheep we ask you to watch over our students as they head back to school. Protect them as the Good Shepherd that you are and keep them safe as they go through school from bullying or anything that would take their focus off of their studies. Lord we pray that the teachers would be guided by Your Spirit to do the things that you would have them do. Give those who are Christians the ability to show Your love to the students. And, even those teachers who don’t have a relationship with you, we ask that you would lead them just as you did King Cyrus to make the right decisions for our children. We pray that they will train up our children in the way that they should go so that when they are older they will not depart from Your Word. We pray that you would give our children who are saved the courage to stand for righteousness. We pray that they would be strengthen by your Spirit to not depart from the truth of Your Word, regardless of what is popular. We thank you that You will give them grace to learn all and retain so that they will pass the exams at the end of the school year, in Jesus Name, Amen
Here are some Bible Verses and a Prayer on Bullying
Save
www.missionariesofprayer.org
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 121
Is 22:19-23
Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8
Rom 11:33-36
Mt 16:13-20
August is a special time of year for those involved in university life. Summer is coming to an end. Students are moving back to campus, buying books, and making plans for the upcoming year. Professors are frantically trying to get syllabi and lesson plans together, while also finishing all those projects they just didn’t get around to this summer. In a week, I will begin teaching my first full load of theology classes after finishing my degree last year, and as I have somewhat anxiously tried to put the semester together, I have been reflecting a lot on the nature of knowledge.
Knowledge is (or at least should be) the goal of the university. Students come to a university to become knowledgeable, and professors work to not only impart whatever knowledge they have gained in their field, but also to stretch the minds of their students and habituate them to become life-long learners and knowers. In classical terms, we might say that the goal of the university is to foster in students the intellectual virtues, that is, those character traits that allow people to use their minds well.
Our readings for this week touch on the theme of knowledge, but not in the way we typically think of it, at least not in the context of the university. Paul writes in Romans,
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor?
Here, divine knowledge is precisely that which humans cannot know. God’s knowledge is so far beyond human knowledge that God’s ways and judgments cannot be penetrated. Nor is God’s knowledge something a professor can simply “teach.” No one, Paul says, can know the mind of the Lord.
Our Gospel for the week presents a similar idea. Jesus asks his disciples who people say that he is. His disciples are like good university students who present a sort of “review of literature” in answer to the question: “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Jesus, in good professorial manner, asks them to articulate their own position. But when Peter answers correctly, Jesus doesn’t praise his intelligence. Peter, after all, did not get the right answer because he was smart. “Blessed are you,” Jesus tells Peter, “For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, buy my heavenly Father.”
In the theological tradition, we speak in two different ways of knowing God. First, there is natural knowledge of God. This is the knowledge of God that we get by observing the world around us, by seeing that there must be some force responsible for the motion in the universe, some force that remains constant despite the fact that all things are changing, some force that directs each thing to its end. This is the knowledge of God we obtain through diligent study and careful thought. Our natural, or rational knowledge, can tell us actually quite a lot about God and we are often tempted to think that this rational knowledge is most important. The person who can make the best theological arguments wins, or something to that effect. And there is some truth here. It is important to study theology, to reflect rationally on the faith, to think rationally about God. It is important, as we read in the first letter of Peter, to “always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for the reason for your hope” (1 Peter 3:15).
We get into trouble when we think that this rational explanation is all we need, when we think that we can use reason to penetrate the mind of God. This is a temptation I think many face, but as a new theology professor, I feel like it is a temptation I am especially vulnerable too. For in addition to natural or rational knowledge of God, there is also a supernatural, super-rational knowledge of God, a knowledge that does not come from study but is rather revealed. This is the knowledge proper to faith, and as such, is purely a gift. It is a gift that we can grow to accept more and more, but nothing we do can merit this divine knowledge. This is the knowledge that Peter confesses, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
In my experience, it is often the unlearned who seem most “schooled” in this supernatural knowledge, the people who have never opened a theology textbook or engaged in a modern theological disputation who are able to honestly proclaim with Paul, “Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and knowledge of God!” This is a humbling thing for a person like myself who puts so much stock into rational study about God, especially at this time of year when I am trying to cram as much as I can into my syllabi. But it is also a reminder to me not to get lost in my research or teaching as if these things could save me or my students. It is a reminder that I need to also be the student, to put myself into the presence of Jesus where I might receive the gift of the knowledge that saves—in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, in the Church and the fellowship of the communion of saints, and in Word of God found in the scriptures.
A few days ago, my husband and I went and saw the Tree of Life, a new, monumental film from Terrence Malick, who is himself a Catholic. The movie begins with a quote from Job, “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation . . . while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” This quote sets the stage for the intense and prayerful questioning the movie explores as a couple (played by Jessica Chastain and Brad Pitt) goes through the grief process after losing their nineteen year old son. It is both a wildly ambitious and humble film which takes on the deepest and most overwhelming metaphysical questions, but also refuses to give too much attention to the questions themselves. The film does not attempt to give a neat answer for the problem of evil or why there is pain and suffering in the world. Instead of an answer, the film provides an experience of the sheer awesomeness of God. Supernatural knowledge—faith—is kind of like the experience of watching the film. In the ends, words fail. Lessons can be learned, but not taught, at least not by human authorities. And we are left able only to sing God’s praises, not analyze who God is.
In light of this, I would like to close with my favorite prayer at this time of year, the great teacher Thomas Aquinas’ prayer for students, which now as a full-time teacher for the first time, I see might well be called a prayer for teachers:
Creator of all things, true source of light and wisdom, origin of all being, graciously let a ray of your light penetrate the darkness of my understanding. Take from me the double darkness in which I have been born, an obscurity of sin and ignorance. Give me a keen understanding, a retentive memory, and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally. Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations and the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm. Point out the beginning, direct the progress, and help in the completion. I ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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