You, Who created us in Your own image, Who designed us for shalom, and destined us for greatness not measured by what we possess, but by the One who possesses us; not ascertained merely through intellectual discourse, but by actively seeking and receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and LORD; not activated by our wealth, but by our poverty in acknowledging that we need You; not manifested by our efforts, but by Your power given us in the Person of the Holy Spirit; and not born of the flesh, but born of the Spirit of the Living God!

We come to You, O God, like the boy with the five barley loaves and two fish to place our meagerness in Your hands that You, Who is not a respecter of persons, may multiply it the way You multiplied a boy’s lunch to feed a crowd of five thousand. Whether we are students, faculty, university staff, or campus ministers, we can place our meager thoughts, hopes, dreams, time, talents, and treasures in Your hands and expect a miracle. Though what we possess seems inadequate, insufficient, and ineffectual, we come as Your children believing that, in Your hands, our little becomes much!

Holy God, manifest Your Kingdom on college campuses, and make campus ministries thriving communities for spiritual formation, vocational discernment, and leadership development. Raise up a generation that entrusts You with their meagerness, like the boy who gave up his lunch, that You may supernaturally multiply it. Loving Father, transform our churches into relevant, inclusive communities—ready, willing, and able to receive young adults as You received the boy! Amen!

Tara L. Seabrook is the Pastor/Director of the Wesley Foundation at Florida A & M University.

As we pray we dare to consider the work of the spirit amongst students in days past; of a hero like John Mott who dreamed of such a wave of mission unleashed from college campuses that the world would be won for Christ in a single generation. We pray your will be done.

As we pray we reflect on the current move of the spirit across our college campuses, of initiatives that are marrying prayer with mission in a way unseen for many generations. We pray your will be done.

As we pray we dream of thousands of young men and women coming to faith in Christ and being trained and sent as mission-minded disciples around the world. We pray your will be done.

But our prayers today are not just for the thousands and for the nations. They are for the faces we see and the hearts we hear. They are for individuals who find themselves in universities and colleges, many for the first time–young men and women with hopes and fears, who will make mistakes and misplace their trust.

Today we pray for each of these: that your will be done in their lives. And as we pray we are reminded of the “hopeless” disciples who chose in despair to walk the seven-mile long road to Emmaus. And we remember with hope that you, Jesus Christ Emmanuel, chose to walk that road with them. At each step you restored and healed, renewing hope and identity. Today Lord Jesus we pray for those on our campuses that “had hoped.” We pray restoration, healing and hope for this generation. And Jesus we ask that we would today follow your example in seeking out the hopeless, choosing to walk with them on their long road.

In the wonderful name of Jesus Christ Emmanuel. Amen.

Pete Greig is one of the founding champions of the 24-7 Prayer movement, the Director of Prayer for Holy Trinity, Brompton in London, and a facilitator for the Campus America initiative.

As we walk around our campuses and churches,

give us eyes to see

and ears to hear

the needs of our communities.

Help us to respond to these needs in real

and responsible ways–ways that

point beyond ourselves to the God we love and serve.

As we walk on our spiritual journeys,

give us time and spaces to ask questions,

to seek understanding in and through our faith;

through scripture, reason, experience and church tradition.

Help us to recognize how you are leading us

through words of counsel from people we meet along the journey

and through the actions of pastors, friends, campus ministers, parents, and chaplains

As we walk together in our faith

as a church community, as the whole, and campus ministry as a part,

give us the patience and willingness to listen to your voice.

Help us to hear it in unlikely places

and to be surprised by where your Spirit is already at work.

Let us ask this day, and every day:

“God, what are you up to today, and how can I/we help?”

In the grace and peace of Jesus Christ our Savior,

who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

One God, now and forever. Amen

Joseph McBrayer, Emory Wesley Fellowship Director, Emory University, Atlanta, Ga

We pray that the students on our campuses will know this love. Heal their brokenness, redeem their value in life and give them the assurance that they are your beloved children. Create a sanctuary within our campus ministries that they may know and experience your life-giving love, and bring them to a place of healing and wholeness through the power of your Spirit.

As your love is proclaimed over them, Lord, help the students on our campuses to then respond by loving one another. Help them to be creative in loving, give them compassion for the unlovable, and a heart for loving those who don’t know you. As the Body of Christ on the campus, let them make you visible and real to those who are wondering where you might be.

Joseph Nader is the Director and Campus Minister of the Wesley Foundation at the University of Texas at Arlington.

God of infinite connections, your desire for us to be in loving relationship overwhelms us. Just as you seek relationship with every single person through Christ’s love and grace, you nudge us toward relationship with each other. John tells us that in his dying act Jesus helped his family and friends strengthen their relationships, introducing his mother Mary and his beloved disciple to the new, supportive connection of mother and son. Jesus encouraged his disciples to take care of each other, to offer genuine hospitality, and to rely on others when needed. Enliven the faith of college students, campus ministers, and supporters that we might likewise offer your love and grace to one another.

God of unhindered grace, as we – students, friends, parents, pastors, leaders, seekers – grow closer to you, we grow closer to one another as your children. We pray that your Spirit would move in and through our relationships and communities. Remind us that young adults are not simply the church of the future but are members of the Body of Christ today. Open the church to the passion and energy of college students. Inspire the church to support its United Methodist campus ministries with prayer, presence, gifts and service. Empower the ministries on college campuses to offer abundant opportunities to experience and share your love.

Through the strength and peace of Christ, we pray. Amen.

Rev. Beth Bostrom serves as Director/Chaplain for the Wesley Foundation at the University of Miami.

O God, it moves us to remember there are so many who have never felt the depth of Your love, never experienced the power of Your healing, and do not know the joy that comes with the fellowship of Your Holy Spirit.

We pray especially for the young adults filling our campuses this fall. May we reveal Your Word of Life to them in ways so powerful it transforms individual lives, entire campuses, and Your whole church.

In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Jennie Edwards, Illinois State University Wesley Foundation, Director

God, be in our time of discernment as we ask who we are, whose we are, how we are to relate to others, what we are to do with our lives, and when and where we are to act in your name.

As we lean into your wisdom, may our questions as individuals and as a connectional system with a deep yearning for ministries related to young people, stretch us and move us forward.

We call upon your Holy Spirit to reveal gaps in our knowledge. May our answers, solutions and goals come from time spent with you in prayer and devotion. Let us not find resolution simply to avoid conflict. We need the conscience-forming struggles of our quarter-lives that we might become who you dream us to be, O God.

No matter our station in life, Lord, you have given us a glimpse of the world’s needs. Today, let us claim authority in your name and power that we might respond out of the wisdom and strength you give us.

Creator God, we recognize that our lives matter. So, as the world presents us with crucial issues, may we respond boldly. May our wisdom and experience contribute to your dream for the world and us. Amen.

Karen Hayden is Director of Pastoral Excellence for the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church.

We thank you and we praise you that each day you present to us a clean slate, a fresh day, and a new opportunity to live in light of your grace. We thank you for the blessings in our lives- especially those that go unnoticed. We also praise you that you are already active within those situations that trouble us and weigh us down. Each day, we face challenges living within the environment of college, whether we’re a student or one who ministers to students. We face the pressure to discern our calling, plan our future, live lives of integrity, and humbly serve others within a culture that glorifies individualism and achievement. The reality is that we all stumble at times under the weight of this pressure, but remind us, Lord, that you know everything. May that be comforting rather than intimidating. You know our motivations and desires, our strengths and weaknesses, and the circumstances that we face in each moment because you made us and you are with us. Remind us that while we are responsible for our actions, you know the deepest motivations of our hearts, even when we don’t act out of them. When we feel guilty and run down by sin, give us assurance of your grace and forgiveness. Remind us that we do not need to earn your love but rather trust the work you have already done on our behalf in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Overcome our emotions and fill us with a peace that passes all understanding and fills us up to be poured out into the lives of those around us. We ask all of these things in your name. Amen.

Dan Wunderlich is beginning his fourth academic year as the Assistant Pastor/Director at the Gator Wesley Foundation in Gainesville, FL. He is a certified candidate for ministry and is applying for provisional membership in the Florida Conference in October 2010. He can be reached at: dan@gatorwesley.com

We hear you calling us to repent for the times when we get swept away by programs, budgets, calendars, meetings, sermon writing, planning, marketing, numbers and buildings. You are calling us to remember that we have been called to so much more than all that occupies our time. You are calling us back to Love. Love that creates, sustains, and empowers us to live into our true vocation.

Help us continue through the rest of this day aware of your presence. We are confident that you are at work in the lives of the students, faculty and staff at our schools in ways we cannot know or understand. Help us to be partners in the work you are already up to. You are in charge. We are ready to stop trying to direct things ourselves and let you guide the way forward.

Empower us with your Spirit to breathe good news into the lives of those around us this day. Spark in us creative energy for watching our calling unfold. We feel you calling us to something new, powerful, exciting, and different. And yet, we know that what you are calling us to is actually ancient, simple, meaningful, and true. Cause us to be what you call us to be. Amen.

Megan Davidson is the Campus Pastor at the TCU Wesley.

O God, our request is urgent and passionate because we know that not only good seeds grow in the fertile soil of our college students – but whatever is planted grows and bears its fruit. So we ask you to raise up faithful sowers to scatter the good seed of your word to every corner of our campuses, and into the heart of every college student. By the power and presence of your Spirit, protect our students and block every enemy from sowing bad seeds into the soil of their lives. Grow our students to be deeply rooted in the grace and truth of Jesus. In your mercy, tend to those places in their lives where thorns and weeds thrive.

We trust you for a harvest beyond our wildest dreams! In the name of Jesus, we ask this for the sake of our college students and for the honor of your name. Amen!

Hugh Griffith, Campus Pastor of Mississippi State