Mindful Prayers for Students

In this episode, focus on being there for others and showing up for others. I think that sometimes we can all get really busy, and it's hard to feel like you have time. In this episode, though, I encourage you to show up and check in on others and check in on your friends and how they're doing, and maybe what they might need in the midst of the chaos and the crazy that's going on.

Scripture says, let your eyes look directly forward in your gaze, be straight before you. So I want you to take that thought as we go into prayer about focus. How do I set my eyes directly on the task at hand? How do I make sure that I'm staying present in the moment?

Today, I just wanted to take a moment to pray for all the students who are studying for exams or taking exams, and that they might find peace and confidence, wisdom, joy, and assurance in this moment. I want to remind you to trust in the Lord from whom your help comes. Trust that He's got your back, that He will pour into you the wisdom that you need for these exams, that the outlines and study guides and test prep books, and tutoring and cheat sheets and all the good things that you have are going to be useful to you and that God will be there with you during troubled times. Even when you go into the exam room, you're not alone. You've always got God on your side.

In today's mindful prayer for students, I talk about the power of our words and the power of speaking love and kindness over ourselves. I always tell my students to be kind to themselves in this process. And I mean that truthfully. Your words are powerful and your words are meaning. Scriptures remind us that we are to love ourselves, that we are the church and God lives within us. So we are to speak positivity and live over our own dreams and our aspirations.

In this mindful prayer for students, I'm praying that you stay encouraged and push through, even when things are hard. John 16:33 says, "in the world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer for, I have come to overcome the world." Jesus reminds us that we will face hard times. Just because we believe in Him and we trust in Him does not mean that things won't be without difficulty. I think that's so important to remember right now, especially with everything going on in the world.

In this episode, I'm going to be praying that God will use 2020 to reveal miracles for your 2021. So I'll be praying us out of 2020 and praying us into 2021, that you may have joy and prosperous peace and blessings abundantly in the new year. I know that this year has been difficult for so many of us. So when I pray us out of 2020, I am acknowledging that it has been a tumultuous year for so many of us. I know that it has affected us all differently. But what I'm sure of is that the darkness does not last forever. And that light comes at the end of the tunnel and that God is going to create miraculous blessings in our lives. I hope that this prayer resonates with you and that it gives you new strength and a new outlook as we go into 2021.

Today, I'm going to be talking about incremental change. What exactly do I mean by that? I think sometimes we all have these really big goals and there's nothing wrong with dreaming big or having big goals. But if we don't quite accomplish the big marker we set for ourselves, it can be easy to get frustrated, get overwhelmed, and quit.

Change doesn't happen overnight. It happens little by little, but God is in the small steps and God is in the incremental changes. The Bible says that setting small goals and praying on them actually helps us build our faith. Luke 16:10 says one who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much.

Ecclesiastes, 3:1 says that there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens. So perhaps look at incremental change as a faith-building exercise.

What are some small changes you can make today that will eventually lead to your larger goal? Where can you practice patience and give yourself grace?

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Today I am going to be talking to you about rest. I want to share a little bit about how I have been dealing with this concept in my own life, and give you some encouragement to build rest into your own schedule.

Rest is so layered. It's the quality of sleep you get at night, but it's also taking the time during the day to stop and breathe. I know it can be hard to even find the time to rest because we are so busy, but if you don't take the time to rest, your body will still do that, and it will usually become at an inopportune moment. You are not your best self unless you rest.

God gave us the gift of rest. He wanted us to build in the Sabbath. That day doesn't have to be Sunday, but it does matter that you carve out the time. He even took a day to rest and reflect when he was creating the world.

Jeremiah 31:25 "For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing."

Isaiah 40:31 "Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar on wings like eagles and they will run and not grow weary."

I hope I can inspire you to reflect on your schedule, looking where you can build in some rest, so you can show up for yourself and others. How are you going to build in rest this week or next week? What things are you going to take off your plate so you can have an abundance of energy and maximize your potential?

Healing can take many different forms, physical, spiritual, or emotional. Healing is a big theme in my life as someone with an autoimmune condition, and it's a big theme for us all right now living through COVID-19. In this episode, I am going to talk about God as a healer in your life as you navigate your schoolwork or your job.

You are not alone. It can be difficult to talk about the things we are struggling with, especially physical struggles because we don't want to burden anyone or be pitied, but it's important to reach out for support.

Psalm 32: "Lord my God, I call to you for help and you healed me."

It can especially be hard to focus on school when you are navigating a health journey, so I would especially like to say a prayer for students who need healing today.

I would also like to pray for anyone who has been working to heal on a physical or emotional level because physical health is not the only part of healing.

I pray that no matter what you are dealing with that you will find hope, peace, and you will reach out. I am a big mental and physical health advocate as someone who is dealing with multiple chronic conditions, so reach out to me if you need to connect with the resources that will help you take the next steps.