A Prayer for Students of Humanitarian Relief

praying your way through university #3

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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God our Father,

We know what is good and what you have required:

To do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with you.¹

You execute justice for the fatherless and the widow.

And you love the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.²

You gave our fathers manna in the wilderness.³

You gave the widow of Zerephath flour and oil until it rained.⁴

Jesus Christ, Bread of Life,

You went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.⁵

You proclaimed good news to the poor.⁶

You fed the 5,000.⁷

You cleansed the leper,⁸

You led tax collectors and prostitutes into the kingdom of God.⁹

You raised the widow’s son from the dead.¹⁰

We ask you to fill the hungry with good things, and to send the rich away empty.¹¹

Holy Spirit,

Where you are, there is freedom.¹²

Lead all people to your Sabbath rest.¹³

Let us not be slothful in zeal.¹⁴

Teach us and all people to rejoice in hope, to be patient in tribulation, and to be constant in prayer.¹⁵

May we contribute to the needs of the saints,

and seek to show hospitality as we bring humanitarian relief to all people.¹⁶

To the Farther of the fatherless and Protector of widows—¹⁷

Amen

1. Micah 6:8

2. Deuteronomy 10:18

3. Deuteronomy 8:16

4. 1 Kings 17:8-16

5. Acts 10:38

6. Luke 4:18

7. Mark 6:30-44.

8. Mark 1:40-45

9. Matthew 21:31

10. Luke 7:11-17

11. Luke 1:53

12. 2 Corinthians 21:31

13. Hebrews 4:9

14. Romans 12:11

15. Romans 12:12

16. Romans 12:13

17. Psalm 68:5