As a follow-up to my post about the National Day of Prayer, I’d like to share this prayer for campus ministries and churches from InterVarsity’s Bob Trube, which was prayed at the Ohio State event I mentioned.
Father, you are the Lord who has sent your people into the world including the world of Ohio State. You are the Lord who has gathered your people into the communities that make up our campus ministries and places of worship at Ohio State.
We thank you for the freedom we enjoy to assemble here this day. We pray that you would so move among our university and political leaders that, in the midst of many beliefs and even great differences, we might continue to enjoy the freedoms of speech and religion that have distinguished this country. And grant us to speak with both conviction and civility in all circumstances.
We pray for the unity of all true believers—that we may be one even as you are one. Grant us an eagerness to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Tear down among us every dividing wall—whether of gender, denomination, status, race, or social class. May this campus see your beloved community and long to share in that love.
We pray that our ministries might be faithful to the whole counsel of your word. Teach us what it means to trust and obey you in every area of life—our relationships, our studies, the stewardship of our bodies, our time, our talents, and resources. May our character, our speech, and our service increasingly reflect your holy and faithful love.
For these things to be so, we acknowledge our need for your empowering presence. We confess that our hope lies not in our plans, our personalities or our programs but rather in the outpouring of your Spirit, your presence among us, and your leadership over each of our ministries.
We pray all of this that the lives of many would be transformed through our ministries. We pray for boldness as we speak of Christ, that you would direct us to those hungering and thirsting for spiritual reality, to those longing for a healing touch to their brokenness. And we pray for your continued transforming work in each of our communities. We ask that you would raise up a generation of people prepared to be salt and light in their workplaces, the rebuilders of walls in their communities and the seekers of justice for all.
Last of all, we pray that our ministries would be a blessing to Ohio State and the University District. May professors be encouraged by the love of learning they see among those in our ministries. Grant us to seek your peace and blessing for our residence halls, for our fellow students, for the university staff who serve us in so many ways, and for residents and businesses around the university and especially for those who differ with us.
May your kingdom come and your will be done at Ohio State. We pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ to God’s greater glory. Amen.
The former Associate Director for the Emerging Scholars Network, Micheal lives in Cincinnati with his wife and three children and works as a web manager for a national storage and organization company. He writes about work, vocation, and finding meaning in what you do at No Small Actors.