A Prayer for Students of Church Ministries

praying your way through university #6

I’ve been tasked with helping to integrate faith into the programs of the College of Online Learning at Evangel University, and I’m going to do it with prayer. You can read the full introduction to these prayers here.

Students will be invited to pray along with their professors as they study.

The prayers are 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 of Lights,

Every good and perfect gift comes from you.¹

Melchizedek brought bread and wine, and blessed Abraham our father.²

You called Moses from the bush that burned but was not consumed,³

And your servant said, “Here I am.”⁴

You endowed Aaron the priest with holy garments.⁵

And you let none of the words of Samuel the priest and the prophet fall to the ground.⁶

Jesus Christ,

You are the high priest after the order of Melchizedek.⁷

You needed to be in your Father’s house.⁸

You drove sellers and money-changers out with a whip.⁹

Though the temple of your body was destroyed, you raised it on the third day.¹⁰

At the Last Supper, you commanded us to observe, “This is my body, this is my blood.”¹¹

And you commanded us to make disciples by baptizing them in your most holy name.¹²

Holy Spirit,

Come upon us as tongues of fire.¹³

And may the gift within us that comes through the laying on of hands be fanned into flame.¹⁴

May we devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers.¹⁵

We proclaim that the kingdom of God is at hand.¹⁶

May people confess their sins and be baptized that they might be healed.¹⁷

And may the Balm of Gilead raise the sick.¹⁸

To the Resurrection and the Life—¹⁹

Amen.

1. James 1:17

2. Genesis 14:18-20

3. Exodus 3:2

4. Exodus 3:4

5. Exodus 28:4

6. 1 Samuel 3:19

7. Hebrews 5:10

8. Luke 2:49

9. John 2:14-15

10. John 2:19

11. Mark 14:22-25

12. Matt 28:19

13. Acts 2:3

14. 2 Timothy 1:6

15. Acts 2:42

16. Mark 1:15

17. James 5:16

18. Jeremiah 46:11, James 5:15

19. John 11:25