A Professor’s Prayer for Our Incoming Students

Posted On August 11, 2026

A prayer by Dr. Ben Shaw, professor of Old Testament at Reformation Bible College. Please join us in praying for our students as a new academic year begins.

O Lord our God, we pray for the students who have come to RBC longing to know You more fully so that they may serve You more faithfully. They will be away from home, from parents, from friends they have had for years. They will meet new people. They will have new experiences. Help them to make that transition, trusting in Your grace to sustain them. Remind them daily that You are their help and support.

Some of the experiences they have will be pleasant. Some will be exciting. Some may be painful and discouraging. Help them to learn from these experiences. Help them grow from these experiences. Help each of them mature as a person and as a Christian.

Teach them to manage their time, to be diligent in their labor as students. Remind them that college is not a race, lest they see all experiences as a competition. Show them how to navigate relationships with roommates and other students. Teach them kindness and generosity. Form in them a spirit of humility and grace. Teach them to seek help when they need it, and to offer help when they can.

Direct them to good churches where they can be involved in the life of the church beyond Sunday attendance. Enable them to learn to fellowship with believers who are not in their demographic. Help them attend well to the preaching of Your Word. Remind them that the Lord’s Day is a day of holy rest, when they can put away the demands of classes and focus on Your life in the church.

Give them wisdom and discernment in all they do, O Lord. Make them quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Help them communicate with grace and pursue understanding. Show them what it means to commune with people who have different views, different opinions, and different personalities.

Help them remember their reliance on You, rather than boast of their knowledge. Let them be curious rather than self-assured.

Make them constant in Your Word and prayer. Let them find joy in the mysteries of Your providence. Sustain them in Your grace.

We pray in Jesus’s name. Amen.