These are some of the worst few days of your college life, I know. You're running on 3 hours of sleep and 4 cups of coffee, the paper you wrote is slightly incoherent and you haven't read the chapters in the book for the test tomorrow. If you haven't prayed in your life before, you will now. But just a reminder- "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" does not mean "I can halfway study and go to sleep and God will provide me with the answers." You can't just pray that the Lord will make your professor last minute decide to turn your 60 into an 85. You won't sit down and magically understand what a logarithmic formula is if you've never seen one and you won't know who the 24th president of the United States was if you've never heard of him. I mean, you can pray this mystical wisdom if you want, and I know He works miracles, but I don't think God works like that all the time.

During times like this, I don't pray for good grades. I pray for Him to help me find focus so that I can learn what I need to know. I pray for peace as I anxiously walk into the exam room. I pray for patience as my professors grade my tests because they are people with lives as well. Instead of praying for God to do everything for me, I pray that he does everything with me and that I can truly see his guidance through my difficult times. I pray for healing during sadness and for calm during anger. Life is much easier when you allow Him to come in and lead you through everything. He will truly carry you if you allow him to.

My prayer for this last week of the semester is this, and I share it with you so that we can all find guidance in this together:

Lord, thank you for the opportunities and accidents and interventions that got me to where I am today. I am one of the few in the whole world who get to have this college experience and I am thankful for it. Please help me to feel your strength when it hurts, feel your peace in the chaos, feel your hope in the disappointment and, most importantly, feel and pass on your love during all of it. Amen.