A Prayer for Students of General Studies

praying your way through university #4

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 all,

To fear you is the beginning of knowledge.¹

You have searched me and known me,²

And such knowledge is too wonderful for me.³

You possessed knowledge at the beginning of your work,⁴

And all will know that you are he who searches mind and heart.⁵

May the whole earth be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.⁶

Jesus Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God,⁷

You were with God in the beginning,

and you are God, the Word through whom all things were made.⁸

You speak not as a scribe, but with authority,⁹

For you are the way, the truth, and the life,¹⁰

And you choose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.¹¹

Holy Spirit, our helper,¹²

Lead us into all truth.¹³

As you fill us with your life-giving power,

Give us skill, intelligence, knowledge, and all craftsmanship.¹⁴

May be be doers of the word and not hearers only.¹⁵

Forever open our lips that our mouths might declare your praise.¹⁶

And, like your servant Daniel, make us competent to stand in the palaces of kings.¹⁷

To the Alpha and the Omega—¹⁸

Amen

1. Proverbs 1:7

2. Psalm 139:1

3. Psalm 139:6

4. Proverbs 8:22

5. Revelation 2:23

6. Habakkuk 2:14

7. 1 Corinthians 1:24

8. John 1:1

9. Mark 1:22

10. John 14:6

11. 1 Corinthians 1:27

12. John 14:26

13. John 16:13

14. Exodus 35:31

15. James 1:22

16. Psalm 51:15

17. Daniel 1:4

18. Revelation 22:13