Biblical Guidance for Back to School Prayer Life
Biblical Guidance for Back to School Prayer Life
As students return to school, they face new challenges and opportunities. Christians can turn to the Bible for guidance on maintaining a vibrant prayer life amidst these changes. The Psalms offer a rich resource, with prayers that express trust in God's guidance and care [2, 3].
The Lord's Prayer, taught by Jesus, provides a foundational model for Christian prayer. It encompasses various aspects of prayer, including worship, petition, and confession [1]. According to John Calvin, this prayer embodies "every possible desire of a praying heart" and provides a framework for Christians to express their needs and concerns [5].
In the context of returning to school, Christians can pray for wisdom, guidance, and protection. The Bible encourages believers to "pray always" and to bring their requests before God with thanksgiving [4, 6]. Tertullian, an early Christian writer, notes that prayer should be a regular practice, with specific times set aside for communing with God [10].
The Bible also teaches that prayer should be accompanied by faith, hope, and charity. Augustine emphasizes the importance of cultivating a deep desire for God and His kingdom, which informs and motivates prayer [9]. Calvin highlights the need for humility and a willingness to submit to God's will in prayer [7].
For students, prayer can be a source of comfort, strength, and guidance as they navigate academic and personal challenges. The Bible encourages believers to pray for one another, and Christians can pray for their peers and educators as they return to school [8].
In praying for guidance and wisdom, students can draw on biblical promises such as Psalm 143:8, which asks God to "teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul" [3]. By incorporating prayer into their daily lives, Christians can cultivate a deeper sense of dependence on God and trust in His providence.
The practice of prayer is not limited to individual devotion but can also be a communal activity. Christians can pray with others, both in formal settings like church and in informal contexts like family or small groups. This communal aspect of prayer can provide additional support and encouragement as students face the challenges of the new school year [8].
As Christians return to school, they can draw on the rich biblical guidance on prayer to deepen their relationship with God and navigate the complexities of academic life. By embracing prayer as a vital aspect of their daily lives, they can experience the comfort, guidance, and strength that comes from communing with their heavenly Father.
Sources
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Lords Prayer — the prayer which Jesus taught his disciples. (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4) "In this prayer our Lord shows his disciples how an infinite variety of wants and requests can be compressed into a few humble petitions. It embodies every possible desire of a praying heart, a whole world of spiritual requirements; yet all in the most simple, condensed and humble form, resembling, in this respect, a pearl on which the light of heaven plays."--Lange. "This prayer contains four great general sentiments, which constitute the very soul of religion,--sentiments which”
- Psalms “Hear my teaching, my people. Turn your ears to the words of my mouth. -- Psalms 78:1”
- Psalms “Psalms 143:8 (BSB) — Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 1: Augustine — Confessions, Letters — CHAP. IX -- 18. When we cherish uninterrupted desire along with the exercise of faith and hope and charity, we "pray always." But at certain stated hours and seasons we also use. words in prayer to Go: CHAP. X. -- 19. Wherefore it is neither wrong ! nor unprofitable to spend much time in praying, if there be leisure for this without hindering other good and necessary works to which duty' calls us, although even in the doing of these, as I have said, we ought by cherishing holy desire to pray without ceasing. For to spend a long time in prayer is ”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 75: 2143 CHAPTER 20. OF PRAYER—A PERPETUAL EXERCISE OF FAITH. THE DAILY BENEFITS DERIVED FROM IT. The principal divisions of this chapter are,—I. Connection of the subject of prayer with the previous chapters. The nature of prayer, and its necessity as a Christian exercise, sec. 1, 2. II. To whom prayer is to be offered. Refutation of an objection which is too apt to present itself to the mind, sec. 3. III. Rules to be observed in prayer, sec. 4-16. IV. Through whom prayer is to be made, sec. 17-19. V. Refutation of an error as to the ”
- 1 Thessalonians (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on 1 Thessalonians 5:16: Here we have divers short exhortations, that will not burden our memories, but will be of great use to direct the motions of our hearts and lives; for the duties are of great importance, and we may observe how they are connected together, and have a dependence upon one another. 1. Rejoice evermore, Th1 5:16. This must be understood of spiritual joy; for we must rejoice in our creature-comforts as if we rejoiced not, and must not expect to live many years, and rejoice in them all; but, if we do rejoice in God, we may do that evermore. In him our joy will b”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 75: pray always. This answer confirmed by an examination of the dangers by which both our life and our salvation are every moment threatened. Confirmed farther by the command and permission of God, by the nature of true repentance, and a consideration of impenitence. Conclusion. 8. Third rule, the suppression of all pride. Examples. Daniel, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch. 9. Advantage of thus suppressing pride. It leads to earnest entreaty for pardon, accompanied with humble confession and sure confidence in the Divine mercy. This may”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 75: we all obtain whatever is good is our common Father ( Mt. 23:9 ), every thing which has been distributed to us we should be prepared to communicate to each other, as far as occasion demands. But if we are thus desirous as we ought, to stretch out our hands and give assistance to each other, there is nothing by which we can more benefit our brethren than by committing them to the care and protection of the best of parents, since if He is propitious and favourable nothing more can be desired. And, indeed, we owe this also to our Fath”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 1: Augustine — Confessions, Letters — CHAP. VIII. -- 15. Why, then, are our desires scattered over many things, and why, through fear of not praying as we ought, do we ask what we should pray for, and not rather say (part 1): 464 with the Psalmist: "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple "?z For in the house of the Lord "all the days of life" are not days distinguished by their successively coming and passing away: the beginning of o”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 3: Tertullian — CHAP. XXV.--OF TIME FOR PRAYER.: Touching the time, however, the extrinsic[18] observance of certain hours will not be unprofitable--those common hours, I mean, which mark the intervals of the day--the third, the sixth, the ninth--which we 690 may find in the Scriptures to have been more solemn than the rest. The first infusion of the Holy Spirit into the congregated disciples took place at "the third hour."[1] Peter, on the day on which he experienced the vision of Universal Community,[2] (exhibited) in that small vessel,[3] had ascended into the more lofty parts of th”