How Students Can Cultivate a Rich Prayer Life
Posted On June 26, 2024
Written by Dr. Ben Shaw, professor of Old Testament
Growing in prayer can be challenging for any believer, but the added busyness of academic life can make pursuing regular prayer feel even more difficult. By the grace of God, however, Christians can flourish in any circumstance–even in the whirlwind of campus life.
Here are seven tips to help students cultivate a rich prayer life:
1. Pray! This first piece of advice may sound silly, but too often the poverty of one’s prayer life is indicated by the failure to pray. If you are out of the habit of praying, make a list of things that you need to pray for or about. Then set a timer for five minutes and devote the entirety of that five minutes to praying for the items on your list. Five minutes may seem short, but it’s about thirty times longer than it takes to pray the Lord’s Prayer. Also, if you are out of practice, five minutes can seem very long.
2. Set a regular time for prayer. Select a time when distractions will be at a minimum. Put your phone and smart watch (if you have one) in another room. Devote the time to prayer. It does not need to be long, but it does need to be consistent. Do not worry about the language of the prayer. You want to compose your thoughts, but don’t think in terms of high literary quality. You are not praying to impress others. You are praying to make your desires known to God.
3. Pray for people other than yourself. Pray for your roommates. Pray for your classmates. Pray for your professors. Pray for your church. Pray for your pastor. Don’t pray in general terms. Ask people what they would like for you to pray for them and then follow through.
4. Don’t try to pray for everything every day. This can easily become overwhelming and inhibit your desire to pray. Many people find it helpful to keep a prayer journal in which they create a daily list of those you will be praying for. For example, you may set aside Fridays to pray for your church, your pastor, and his sermon preparation. You may devote Mondays to praying for classmates, Tuesdays for roommates, and the like.
5. Be thankful. Make a note of answered prayers and thank God for them. Think of ordinary things you may give God thanks for, such as a good meal, a good class time, a good sermon, or a good grade. Thank Him for your trials as well, since they are for your growth in grace.
6. Make use of prayers in Scripture. For example, pray Ephesians 3:14–19 for your roommates. Try turning the Psalms and other portions of Scripture into prayers. This will require some meditation on the Scriptures before you begin to pray. And you will learn how to pray God’s promises back to Him.
7. Make use of the prayers of others. Many have found help in The Valley of Vision or the Book of Common Prayer. But don’t let these sources become a crutch. Remember that it is your desires, cares, concerns, and praises that you are presenting to God.