A Prayer for the New Semester

May the God of all peace and understanding be the fount from which you daily drink and delight in. I am ever so grateful for all the students who will enter buildings that I will never enter, speak to students/teachers I’ll never meet, and groups I couldn’t think of. You are who God has chosen to spread his message to. What a gift. May you see the people around you as those who bear the image of God. Those whom you can love, those whom you can give to, those whom you can share your greatest hope to.

The gift of learning and education is indispensable. May you study diligently, prepare earnestly, arrive promptly, and seek to honor the Lord in it all. Your time as a student is finite, and may even seem mundane. Remember that Christ is with you in every classroom, hallway, lecture, practice, and meal you have. He draws near even when you may forget he’s there. He’s spurring you along everyday to shine his light to the people around you everyday. Every morning or every night, take a minute to pause and meditate on His perfect and holy word. His word that's given to lead His children to live a life of wisdom, peace, purity, and excellence. Not to bolster you, but to display the expansive glory that He has tasked you to display through holy living.

So students, brothers and sisters in the faith, may the utmost of joys be what marks you. Joy given from God the Father, Son, and Spirit. Our God, three in one. May you who belong to God be beacons of light, shining in stark contrast to the world around you for His namesake. May the school you go to never be the same because you were faithful to fulfill the mission God has entrusted to you. Whether that be a whole class of people or just a few within the small circle you surround yourself with, strive forward with every fiber of your being. Grace be with you and God bless.