By Fred Sanders
The Scriptorium
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/scriptorium/2012/05/prayer-for-the-class-of-2012/
(For Torrey graduation, May 25, 2012)
Father God, we bring
these seniors, this class of 2012, to you today. We lift them up before
you, and call their names in your presence, and call on your name in
their presence.
Because this is the moment of the handoff. We are passing them on to you. Here. Take them.
Just
four years ago their parents handed them off to us when they arrived at
Biola, and we came to know and love them for this crucial, critical,
crazy season. For four years we have taught them and learned with them,
prayed for them and prayed with them, challenged them and been
challenged by them. We did our best, or something close enough to our
best to get them here. They did their best, or something close enough to
their best to get them here.
We taught them to strive for
excellence, mostly by inspiring example, but occasionally by cautionary
counter-example. We taught them to forgive, mainly by modelling grace
and patience to them, but occasionally by giving them something to
forgive us for. And now our time is over, and we’re handing them off to
you with real joy, and real relief, and real satisfaction.
Sovereign
Father, do your best for them. You have already loved them so much that
you gave your only Son for them, and your Holy Spirit to them. How
shall he who gave his dear Son not likewise give them all things
necessary?
May their love abound in knowledge and discernment, so
they may approve what is excellent, and be pure and blameless for the
day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through
Jesus Christ. May their knowledge run deep, and be real, and have
force. May their love be smart, may their love love the right things the
right way. May their love hold fast to the good, rather than fixating
on the wrong things, may it weigh things accurately, rather than
undervaluing the good or overvaluing the trivial. May their love
distinguish between what doesn’t matter, what does matter, and what
matters most. Give them minds for what matters most.
Lord, save
them! Lead them not into cockiness, but deliver them from pride. Lead
them not into trivial pursuits, but deliver them from sloth. Lead them
not into compromise, but deliver them from lies. Lead them not into
embarrassment, but deliver them from shame. Save them from
prayerlessness, loneliness, purposelessness, filthiness; from
worldliness, from unworldliness, from always learning but never coming
to a knowledge of the truth.
Here they are, here is the handoff.
They need to be handed off. More, they need to be received. Thank you
that you are faithful and true to take them from our hands and gather
them in your arms.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
