A Prayer for Students of Business

praying your way through university #8

It has been brought to my attention that I forgot a department in my task of integrating faith in the College of Online Learning at Evangel University through prayer. I don’t know how it happened, but it was easy to remedy. I’ve composed a prayer for students of business. Read it, and I invite you to pray it as you do, even if you’re not a businessperson or a student of gold.

You can read the full introduction to all of my university prayers here.

This prayer, like the previous ones, is modeled on a medieval art form called a florilegium which means “flower-gathering.” Each phrase of the prayer comes from a passage of Scripture (I’ve footnoted them). Each Scripture is like a flower from a different plant that, when brought together, creates a new and uniquely beautiful “bouquet.” They have a trinitarian structure, and (generally) follow the timeline of the Scriptures, moving from Creation and the OT, to Jesus, to the Spirit and the life of the world to come. The hope is that students will learn to pray in trinitarian fashion, and that they’ll get some biblical literacy while they do.

If you share this prayer, please link this page for the Scripture references.

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Father, Creator of heaven and earth,

Your law is perfect, reviving the soul.¹

Your rules are to be desired more than gold.²

You created Havilah, where the gold of the land is good.³

You made Abraham great, giving him flocks and herds, silver and gold.⁴

And all of the earth came to Joseph to buy grain.⁵

But you sent a plague on those who made the golden calf.⁶

Jesus Christ, Son of God and carpenter,⁷

You said we cannot serve God and Mammon,⁸

For the love of money is the root of all evil.⁹

You called fishermen to become fishers of men,¹⁰

And tax collectors to follow you.¹¹

Let us seek first your kingdom that all things might be added unto us.¹²

Holy Spirit,

Make us like the merchant who found the fine pearl,

And sold everything for the kingdom of heaven.¹³

Make us tent makers like Paul,¹⁴

Sellers of purple like Lydia,¹⁵

Tailors like Tabitha,¹⁶

And fishermen like the Twelve.¹⁷

Let us not be like the merchants who weep for Babylon.¹⁸

And teach us always to make friends by means of unrighteous wealth,

That we may be received into eternal dwellings.¹⁹

To the Maker of the Golden City,²⁰

Amen.

1. Psalm 19:7

2. Psalm 19:10

3. Genesis 2:11-12

4. Genesis 24:35

5. Genesis 41:57

6. Exodus 32:35

7. Mark 6:3

8. Luke 16:13

9. 1 Timothy 6:10

10. Make 1:17

11. Mark 2:14

12. Matthew 6:33

13. Matthew 13:46

14. Acts 18:3

15. Acts 16:14

16. Acts 9:39

17. John 21:3

18. Revelation 18:15

19. Luke 16:9

20. Revelation 21:18