Give it a try for the next month. Maybe pray for your students specifically leading up to Easter or for the weeks leading up to the end of school. Maybe you can pray for those students who will be attending the mission trip or another event. Maybe you are already in the groove of praying for each of your students by name, but if you’re not, it is a powerful part of the role you play.
Students often live hurting and lonely lives. When times are tough, they get frustrated, stressed and confused. It’s not easy being a teen these days and there’s no way around it – they have to live right through it.
It’s a blessing when a student comes from a Christian family or is actively connected to faith and the church. But even in the best of circumstances, it’s not easy passing through teen years into adulthood. Let alone those students who come from tough situations.
We need to pray for our students. We need to pray for a stirring in our heart to put our trust in God and invest time in prayer on their behalf.
Do you know the difference between a prophet and a priest? A prophet stands before the people on behalf of God. Teens do need this, probably more often than we may realize. But a priest stands before God on behalf of the people. As leaders, we have the awesome privilege of approaching the throne of God with the very names of students with whom we minister. We must be the “priests” in their lives. We must stand in the gap. It very well could make all the difference.
Here are some ideas for praying for students by name:
A Student Each Day
Depending on the size of your student ministry, you can just assign a name (or a few names) of a student to each day of the week and start praying for them.
A Grade Each Day
Another idea may be to pray for a grade a day. Take all the students in 12th grade and pray for them by name on Monday. On Tuesday you’d pray for your list of 11th-grade students and so on down the line for the week.
Develop A Prayer Calendar
Pull up a blank one month calendar and divide the students up evenly through the month. You can list their first names and hang up the calendar (or put it on your phone) and pray for each student by name for the month.
Device Reminders
Set up a reminder on your gadget to pray for each student by name for a select number of days. Invest some time setting up the alerts/calendar notices, and your students’ names will pop up and you can pray for them for the week or month.
Invite Others To Pray
Invite your team to help you pray for the students. You can divide up names or figure out some other way to pray for your teens as a group of adults. You can invite the whole church to pray for your teens if you’d like.
Let Them Know You Are Praying For Them
When you pray for your student, send them a personal note or message letting them know!
Again, don’t feel like you have to do this every single day forever and ever. Just try it for a week or month. Eventually, you may incorporate praying by name in an ongoing way. Or you may do a series of seasons of prayer that follow your annual rhythm.
As John Wesley said, “prayer is where the action is.” God’s work through your prayers for your students carries with it eternal significance. There are some things that can only happen through prayer. Pray for your students by name.
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