Prayer points with Scriptures · 23 points
Prayer Points for Students
These prayer points are for students at every stage, from middle school and high school to college, university and graduate school. They cover wisdom for learning, focus and honesty, peace before exams, exam day and results day, friends and faith on campus, and teachers and the future. Every point sets a Bible verse beside a short prayer a student can pray, and parents, grandparents and churches can pray them over a student by name.
For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 2:6 (BSB)
Pray one section a day during the term, or the two exam sections in the week before finals. After the verse and the prayer, name the subject, the test or the friend on your mind. Prayer never replaces studying; it puts your studying, your nerves and your results in God’s hands. Verses are from the Berean Standard Bible.
Wisdom for learning
1Asking for wisdom
God, You do not scold anyone who asks You for wisdom; You give it generously. So I am asking. Help me understand what I am studying, see how the pieces connect and know what matters most in each class.
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
James 1:5 (BSB) · Pray this verse →2Knowledge and understanding
God, while Daniel and his friends were being trained in Babylon, You gave them understanding in all they read and studied. Open my mind as I read, listen and practice, and help me learn well for Your glory.
To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. And Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.
Daniel 1:17 (BSB) · Pray this verse →3A mind that seeks knowledge
Lord, the heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out. Make me curious, not just trying to pass. Give me questions worth asking and the courage to ask them in class.
The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out.
Proverbs 18:15 (BSB)4Teachable when corrected
Lord, a wise person who is instructed becomes wiser still. When a paper comes back covered in red ink or a coach corrects me, keep me from getting defensive. Make me teachable, and let every correction make me better.
Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.
Proverbs 9:9 (BSB)
Focus, diligence and honesty
5Eyes fixed straight ahead
Lord, help me fix my gaze straight ahead. When my phone buzzes, tabs multiply and my mind wanders, give me focus for the work in front of me and the self-control to put distractions away.
Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead. Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.
Proverbs 4:25-26 (BSB)6Making the most of my time
Father, teach me to walk wisely and redeem the time. Help me plan my week, start assignments before the night they are due, and balance study, rest, friends and church instead of swinging between panic and doing nothing.
Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16 (BSB)7Steady diligence
Lord, the slacker craves yet has nothing, but the diligent are fully satisfied. Give me steady diligence instead of last-minute bursts. Help me do the reading, show up to class and finish what I start.
The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.
Proverbs 13:4 (BSB)8Honest work, no shortcuts
Lord, whoever walks in integrity walks securely. Keep me honest in every test and assignment. When cheating, copying or letting a tool write my work looks easy, give me the courage to do my own work and trust You with the grade.
He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.
Proverbs 10:9 (BSB)
Peace before exams
9Peace instead of panic
Lord, You tell me not to be anxious about anything but to bring every request to You with thanksgiving. So here is my exam, my worry and my hope. Let Your peace, beyond all understanding, guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (BSB) · Pray this verse →10Sleep before the test
Lord, it is in vain to rise early and stay up late, because You give sleep to those You love. Free me from the all-nighter mindset. Help me study well, then trust You enough to close the books and go to sleep.
In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.
Psalm 127:2 (BSB) · Pray this verse →11Preparing well, trusting You with the outcome
LORD, the horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory is Yours. Help me prepare thoroughly: review, practice and ask for help where I am stuck. Then help me leave the outcome in Your hands.
A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is of the LORD.
Proverbs 21:31 (BSB)12When it all feels like too much
Lord Jesus, You invite everyone who is tired and weighed down to come to You for rest. Exams, grades, money and expectations feel heavy right now, so I come to You. Give me Your rest, and show me someone I can talk to.
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 (BSB) · Pray this verse →
On exam day and results day
13Power, love and self-control
God, the spirit You have given me is not one of fear; it is a spirit of power, love and self-control. As I walk into this exam, calm my body, clear my mind and help me work steadily through each question.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:7 (BSB) · Pray this verse →14When panic hits in the exam room
Lord, when I am afraid, I put my trust in You. If my mind goes blank or I hit a question I cannot answer, help me breathe, pray, move on and come back to it with a calmer mind.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
Psalm 56:3 (BSB)15You are with me in the room
God, You told Your people not to fear, because You are with them. Be with me in the exam room. Strengthen me, help me and uphold me, whether this test goes the way I hoped or not.
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 (BSB) · Pray this verse →16Content with any result
Lord Jesus, Paul learned the secret of being content in every situation and found he could do all things through You who gave him strength. Whatever my results, good or disappointing, give me contentment and the strength to celebrate or to try again.
I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. In any and every situation I have learned the secret of being filled and being hungry, of having plenty and having need. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:12-13 (BSB) · Pray this verse →
Friends and faith on campus
17Friends who sharpen me
Lord, as iron sharpens iron, give me friends who make me better: who study with me, laugh with me and point me back to You. Help me be that kind of friend, and give me wisdom about who I spend my time with.
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17 (BSB)18Courage in a new place
LORD my God, You told Joshua to be strong and courageous because You would be with him wherever he went. Whether I am starting at a new school or living away from home for the first time, go with me and calm my homesickness and fear.
Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9 (BSB) · Pray this verse →19Thinking deeply, rooted in Christ
Lord Jesus, I want to love learning and think hard about big questions. Keep me from being taken captive by empty philosophy and deception that leave You out. Help me test what I hear, ask honest questions and stay rooted in You.
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
Colossians 2:8 (BSB)20Christian fellowship at school
Father, help me walk in the light and find fellowship with other believers: a church, a campus group or even one Christian friend. Keep me from drifting quietly away, and thank You that the blood of Jesus cleanses me from all sin.
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:7 (BSB)
Teachers and the future
21Teachers and professors
God, You granted Daniel favor and compassion from the official in charge of him. Give me good relationships with my teachers, professors and advisers. Bless them with patience, wisdom and energy, and help me show them respect.
Now God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official,
Daniel 1:9 (BSB)22Trusting You with my path
LORD, I want to trust You with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding. As I choose classes, a major, a school or a career, help me acknowledge You in every decision, and make my paths straight.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (BSB) · Pray this verse →23Plans held with an open hand
Lord, my heart plans my course, but You determine my steps. Help me make wise plans for after graduation and hold them with an open hand. If doors close, help me trust that You are still leading me.
A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
Proverbs 16:9 (BSB)
A closing prayer
Lord, You give wisdom, knowledge and understanding. Help me learn well, work honestly and use my time wisely. Calm my fears before exams and steady me on exam day. Whatever my results, let my worth rest in You and not in a grade. Give me good friends, patient teachers and a strong faith wherever I study, and lead me step by step into the future. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Pray with a voice
Short prayers with a voice to pray along with, each drawn from one passage.
Questions
What Bible verse should I pray before an exam?
Many students pray Philippians 4:6-7, which invites us to bring every request to God with thanksgiving and says God’s peace will stand guard over our hearts and minds. James 1:5 (asking for wisdom), 2 Timothy 1:7 (power, love and self-control) and Psalm 56:3 (trusting God when afraid) are also good choices. All four are in the list above.
Does praying guarantee I will pass my exam?
No. Prayer is not a way to skip studying or a promise of a particular grade. Proverbs 21:31 holds both sides together: the horse is prepared for battle, but “victory is of the LORD.” We study as hard as we can, ask God for wisdom and calm, and trust Him with the result, knowing our worth is not measured by a score.
How can parents pray for their student?
Pray through one section a week for your son or daughter, putting their name into each prayer. Before exams, pray the exam-day section with them in the car or send it by text. Ask what they are studying and what is worrying them, so you can pray specifically, and on results day let them see that your love does not depend on the grade.
More prayer points
Every verse on this page is quoted word for word from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which its publishers dedicated to the public domain. Copy, print and share these prayer points freely with your church.