May my spoken words and unspoken thoughts be pleasing even to you, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 TLB
I could take a whole lot of words to talk about the need to pray for my students and colleagues and their families. Yet, I’ve found the more time and effort I put into trying to capture the importance of this privilege to pray, the less real work of praying I actually do.
Since you’re here and reading this (along with having read part 1), you probably already know the deep need for praying for students and colleagues. Even though I now teach at a faith-based institution, there’s plenty of need to continue my practice of praying for my colleagues and their families too. Not every child nor every spouse actively follows Jesus despite their father or mother, husband or wife working for a Christian university. Even though global statistics might show upwards of 84% of people pray at least once a week, most are praying only for those in their own family or friend group. Thus, we can posit we might be the only ones praying for those in our daily lives in academia. Much less repeatedly and faithfully praying for those we see every day at our institutions.[1]
Prayer Statistics | Verified 2026 Data
Prayer Statistics: Insights on Prayer Habits and Impact
Something I’ve regularly done in the past is to email or send a card via campus mail to individual students or colleagues telling them I prayed for them on that day. Many times, I’m surprised by how many respond to their notes with something like this “how did you know that day was when I had [that exam, job interview, presentation, important meeting]?” or “why did you pray for me? I’m not someone special”. Every time I hear that question, I ache inside that this student or colleague doesn’t feel worthy of being noticed for prayer, much less loved enough by God to be brought to someone’s heart and mind for prayer. And those responses make me think that intercessory prayer is now truly a rare gift indeed…
With all that in mind, I am convicted to pray for my students and colleagues to know these truths deep in the soil of their souls:
- God’s love is always for them in every need through every day (see John 3:16-17).
- God has a good plan for them, their families, their faith, and their futures (see Jeremiah 29:11)
- God wants to break cycles of sin in their families while transforming their lives in righteousness (see 2 Corinthians 5:17 & 21).
- God’s compassion is for them, not just those who seem shiny, happy, and good (see Psalm 139:24).
I pray and yearn for my students (and colleagues) to understand and to embrace these words from Psalm 119:103 cjb: How sweet to my tongue is your promise, truly sweeter than honey in my mouth!
Not just a one-and-done of a love limited to this term or this day at the office.
But a love that continues after this semester and graduation, move, or retirement.
My students and my colleagues desperately need that kind of love in abundance and repeatedly and in ways which distinctively and definitively speak to them body, mind, and soul. They may not realize faith is missing in their lives until they don’t have anything or anyone to fall back on when trouble comes. From personal experience, trouble can come not just unexpectedly but instantaneously. And in the doing, trouble can turn carefully curated worlds upside-down. For if a firm foundation of faith isn’t already in place, an upside-down world is crushing, both in beliefs and in burdens to bear (see Matthew 7:24-27 and 1 Peter 5:7).
In contrast, I marvel at the mustard-seed faith of students and colleagues actively doing the very hard and eternal work of forgiving the ones who inflicted evil on them along with making sure such sin isn’t in their homes now or to come (see Matthew 13:23).They’ve learned the power of love and letting Jesus not just take the wheel but giving Him the anger, bitterness, and pain of the past, too. Because they now know this: God doesn’t waste anything, including that which they wish never happened (see Romans 8:28).
God often reminds me of the following truth during the day: I need know my words can clearly show love for others or lack of love to others, depending on who’s controlling the words of my mouth and meditations of my heart (Psalm 19:14). My scientific expertise can bring nothing but more disappointment and frustration to my students and colleagues if I’m the one controlling my tongue (see James 3:5-8).
With all that in mind, Scripture tells me a bunch of truths concerning my words for students, colleagues, family, neighbors, and whomever else God puts in front of me in a day. This list is a small sampling of especially helpful verses for caring for students (and others) carrying heavy loads and needing much love (see Psalm 68:19 & 55:22 and Galatians 6:2).[2]
- Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones (Proverbs 16:24).
- And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. (Psalm 12:6)
- My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding. (Psalm 49:3).
- Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. (Ephesians 6:19
- He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:5)
When I taught at four different state institutions before coming to Union University, I couldn’t say Scripture aloud in class. Yet nothing could keep me from praying those verses (and others!) for my students and colleagues, day after day. I believe those prayers, along with others’ prayers for me and my students, helped open doors in conversation with students and colleagues about eternal things then.
And now, too.
Pain/grief/suffering is a universal shared experience with multiple different outcomes, including joy. If I am vulnerable at appropriate times and appropriate places, losses can be open doors for words of truth which my students (and colleagues) can receive and believe. The Gospel message isn’t just reserved for recitation of the Romans Road or adherence to the A, B, C path. It can be lived and spoken in ways as unique and distinctive as I am and as you are, too.
I still think that my cane, walker, and electric scooter are some of my most important tools for ministry. Because when others see me as vulnerable and in need of help, they’re more likely to open up with their needs, invisible to everyone except God. For when I acknowledge God as my source of strength, then they realize that He can and will help them in their own situations or suffering (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). As importantly, God wants me to share the comfort I receive from Him in suffering with others for them to be comforted by Him, too (see Romans 5: 3-5).
Our students and colleagues desperately need to know they are loved by Almighty God Who has promised to love them and care for them, no matter what they’ve done or experienced. Just like He’s done for you and me, too.
Words aren’t cheap to God.
Nor should they be to us.
Our work with words as faculty, staff, and administration at institutions of learning (faith-based and not) should be full of the love, mercies, and grace the Living Word has given to us. Words aren’t cheap to God; they shouldn’t be to us.
With all that in mind, may we all grow together in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Word Who became flesh for us (see John 1:14). May we all use whatever knowledge we have as a tool for the kingdom of God to come and His will be done here on earth as it in heaven (see Matthew 6:9-13).
[1] Copilot search – 84% of the world does at least one prayer/meditation/other religion-focused time per week with most of prayer time spent on personal needs – info taken from Pew Research Center’s 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study and Barna Group’s “State of Prayer” reports as obtained on 8/2/26
[2] The NIV Bible lists 406 references for verses containing “words” – info obtained on 7/31/26 at www.biblegateway.com
