12 Prayers for Students (and the rest of us) to Pray

With practice, I’ve gotten better at being honest with God, and myself, when I pray. He knows the truth anyway, right? So why shouldn’t I be up front about my thoughts, opinions, feelings and perspectives? Here, 12 prayers that are common to all of us, whether we’re students in the formal sense of the word or not.

1. “Please pick up this pencil and write.” Let’s get this one out of the way right away. You’ve said this, haven’t you? Yeah, God didn’t answer that prayer the way I had hoped either. But at least we were honest in our desperation!
2. “Show me whom I should date/marry.” College is admittedly a time for testing the relationship waters. Unfortunately some students take dating way too seriously and stressfully. The whole point of a first date is NOT to determine if you’re going to marry someone, but only to find out if you want a SECOND date! But seeking God’s guidance and provision is never a bad thing.
3. “Keep me safe.” The second part of this really should be “because I’m too dumb to do it myself.” Sometimes we’re truly incapable; other times we just plain make bad choices and expose ourselves to unnecessary risk. Walking alone across campus late at night? Not smart. Getting in the car with a drunk driver? Downright stupid. I can trust God’s arms to protect me, but I should also use the brain he gave me.
4. “Use me.” It’s great to want to do great things for God. Usually the work I get to do is only sorta-kinda-OK, at least from my perspective. But then I remember that it’s not important for me to wind up looking great, only God. And if I truly mean this prayer in the right way, God always answers it with an opportunity. And that is fun.
5. “Change my heart.” Do you ever want to do the right thing… the only problem is that you really don’t WANT to do that? Yeah, sometimes we have to want to want to first, and only God can change that. This one is so tough. Keep praying it. Sometimes it takes a while.
6. “Give me a job.” Yes, please. But keep using that brain we mentioned in #3. For example, how do you use social media? What would a potential employer think of you based on what a Google search of your name yields? God has amazing ways to provide for you, but don’t sabotage his blessings by doing dumb stuff.
7. “Forgive my pride.” This is the flip side of the sermonette in #7. Do you ever get to thinking, “Man, I could really screw things up for my entire life (or my family, friends, etc.) by making the wrong choice here”? Seriously, we do dumb stuff. We make choices, often between something good and something else good! It’s super prideful of us to think our decisions and actions are powerful enough to thwart God’s plans for the entire universe.
8. “Open a door.” A proverbial door, of course. The one that God will use to create opportunity for you, and for Him. The eagerness in this prayer can be exhilarating… or nauseating.
9. “Close a door.” Sometimes the only way to know which path to take (think majors, jobs, relationships, travel, classes, activities, etc.) is to eliminate some of the options. God is really good at that too.
10. “Heal me.” Life is hard. But God is good. We get cracked and broken along the way. He can pick up the pieces. Whether it’s with duct tape or chewing gum, he can piece us back together. And he actually likes to help us. There may be scars, but it does get better.
11. “Prove it.” Sometimes we need to know that God is God. That he’s in control. That he’s able. That he’s real. Sometimes it’s for our benefit. Sometimes it’s for other people in our lives. Sometimes we want to see it through our families being fixed (because, admit it, we all come from dysfunctional families!), our career paths being crystallized, our questions being answered, our friends coming to know Christ. It’s beautiful when we see God answer this prayer.
12. “Yes.” Perhaps the best thing we can say to God. When our “yes” is on the table, we’re ready to follow God wherever he leads, whenever he asks. So get that passport. Learn that new skill. Make a friend. And be ready. God’s listening, and we should be too.

 Kathy Raines, UBC College Minister