How to Pray for Students

The students are the next generation of society. The future leaders of our society are on the campuses right now, studying. That is why we need to reach out to the students. We reach out to them primarily by preaching the Gospel to them. If we want the future leaders of society to have godly values, we have to bring them to Christ first. This will be possible only if they get to hear the Gospel, and we don’t stop preaching the Gospel to the students. Even after they repent, believe, and commit to following Christ, we continue to teach them in the ways of God and disciple them. That is why the apostle Paul, a mentor and spiritual father to Timothy, said to Timothy to entrust whatever he had heard from him to faithful men who would also entrust others. In other words, after preaching the Gospel to students, we should raise them to become leaders who will do the things that we do and even better. Reaching out to the students is never easy but we still do it because there is great importance to it. We can see in the Bible that God has a heart for the next generation. Another reason it is not just essential but also strategic to reach out to students is that when we reach out to a student, we also get to reach a family. When a student becomes a follower of Christ and understands the eternal life that Christ gave him, he or she cannot help but share the Gospel with his or her family, resulting in the family being reached. As well, the current values of the students shall also become the values of society in the future. If they don’t value purity and holiness, that will also become society’s values in the future. That is why as we disciple them we instill godly values. Reaching out to the students is essential. That is why praying for students is one of the things that we should always do. This article will show you how you can pray for students.

Matthew 28:19-20

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Acts 2:17

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

2 Timothy 2:1-2

Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

What are the ways to pray for students?

There are two categories of students that you can pray for. One is praying for the students who are lost. With that, there are a couple of different things that you can pray for them. The most important is for them to hear the Gospel and for the Holy Spirit to soften their hearts and open their spiritual eyes so that they may receive, repent, and believe the person and work of Christ when they hear of the Gospel. The most important prayer we can pray for the lost students is centered in the Gospel because the Gospel is where their discipleship journey begins—at the moment they repent and commit to follow Christ and submit to His Lordship. In line with preaching the Gospel to the lost students, you can also pray for the ministers or Christian students who are reaching out to the campuses, to have opportunities or open doors to connect with students and preach the Gospel to them. It’s up to you and your ministry to decide what open door or opportunity you would like to ask God for. It could be an opportunity to hold an event on the campus, a chance to conduct a seminar, and many others. 

Ezekiel 36:26

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Romans 10:13

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

That brings us to the second category of students you can pray for—student Christian leaders. We are talking about Christian students preaching the Gospel to their classmates and even their teachers. In that regard, you can pray for the Christian students to be fruitful in their ministry work. It could be praying that the many students to whom they will preach the Gospel will repent and follow Christ. It could also be praying that more students will attend the small groups that leaders form and that the students will make time to hear their small groups. If a youth service is being conducted in your church, you can also pray for the students to attend the youth service. However, be careful that what you are praying for is not just about numbers. We don’t want to see just numbers in the population of student attendees, but souls being saved. 

John 15:1-5

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Colossians 4:3

Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:

You can also pray for the Christian student’s walk with God. You can pray for their character, that they shall always exhibit a Christlike character and that the unbelievers around them shall see Christ in their life. While it is essential to preach the Gospel, the way they live their life should also back up the Gospel that they preach. Of course, the very motivation of why we should live holy lives is to please God. You can also pray for them to remain steadfast under any trial they face as a student because of their faith. Sometimes a student gets persecuted because of his or her faith. That is why it is also good to pray for grace upon them to remain steadfast and endure and persevere in the faith no matter what hardships or sufferings they go through. That also means praying that they shall persevere in the faith and run with endurance the race that God has set before them; not falling away from the faith nor going back to the world. Getting back to what we mentioned about being fruitful, you can include praying for the students to continually abide in Christ, for it is only in Christ can they bear fruit. 

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

James 1:12

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Hebrews 12:1

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us

Lastly, pray for Christian students that no matter what circumstance they may find themselves in, they shall always be joyful, content, and have a grateful heart toward God. No matter the circumstances, they have joy because their joy is hinged on Christ. Christ is also their greatest treasure. That is why they are contented no matter what they go through in life. 

Here is an example of how you can pray for students, both the unbelievers and the believers:

Heavenly Father, You are the God of grace and mercy Who sent Your Son to die for us on the cross. I pray that You would cause awakening to happen in the hearts of the lost students and that You would soften their hearts so that they may call upon You and repent as they hear the Gospel. I pray for our Christian student leaders on the campuses, who are preaching Christ to their classmates and teachers. Always give them the grace and strength they need as they become the salt and light to the campuses they are on. I pray that You would cause ministry endeavors to grow and bear fruit so they will get to see more students repenting and coming to Christ. I also pray that they shall continue to grow more in sanctification and that the fruit of the Spirit shall be evident in their lives. I pray that, as young as they are, they shall pursue and uphold purity and holiness, and their lives shall be a testimony to Who Christ is, how He changes lives, and how He frees us from sin. Whenever they encounter trials, hardships, and persecutions because of their faith, give them the grace to endure the race You have set before them. Help them to persevere in the faith so they shall never turn their backs on Christ and go back to the world. Remind them that Christ is on Whom their joy is founded and that He is their greatest treasure, the living water in Whom they shall never thirst. May they continue to become men and women of wisdom who shall always fear You and turn their feet away from evil. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
All of us have to reach out to the next generation; we have the responsibility to make sure that the future business people, politicians, doctors, engineers, soldiers, etc. of this world are men and women who know the LORD. We do it by preaching the Gospel to them and discipling them, but we also have to pray for them constantly.