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Collection of Exam-Prayer Surveys This list was put colected togeather By Jared Here go a few responses to a "survey I sent out a while ago. For the sake of privacy I have removed peoples names: A: What do you think about praying before an exam? I always do. Why do you do it (if you do)? Even if I know the material, getting good marks is meaningless without God being on my side. How do you think God responds? So far, I think he has taken kindly but I might not find out for sure for a long time. What can help his response? Chocolates. No, I'm not really sure. And any other related things you can think of. It does wonders for the nerves knowing that the creator of the universe is near. A quick prayer every so often throughout the exam inspires answers you would never have thought of otherwise. I had finished my maths paper today except for a couple of questions, which I knew the stuff for but couldn't figure out. Prayed for a while about various stuff (not just exams but other things too) and then bingo, the answer pops into my head. Praise God for He is Great! B: What do you think about praying before an exam? I do it. Good stress reliever. More too Why do you do it (if you do)? So I can do well of course! (Of course, I don't tell God this. I pretend I want the exam to go well, for his glory - sneaky huh?) Or not. Sorry if I've inadvertently offended someone here. I cannot honestly justify praying to do well. If I wanted to do well, (I think) it's a biblical idea that you reap what you sow. So, its a bit silly playing vector racing in lectures (all right, I confess, I've played it a couple of times, but they were really boring) and not studying 'til the night before, and then just going in there and praying for you to do well. I guess a model Christian should pray that he honours God however the exam goes, and that it will work. How do you think God responds? God's omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence means that the answer to this can be unlimited in scope. In my limited experience its in little things, that work out right, and so often we miss these. What can help his response? I agree with Dave here. Chocolates are definitely the way And any other related things you can think of. Not really. I've written too much already. C: What do you think about praying before an exam? Well, I do before every exam - it's a great idea Why do you do it (if you do)? I kind of dedicate it to him, so I'm not trying to do it just on my own ability. And so, I'm under no illusions of my own ability. I pray all the way through usually. Plus, it calms me down heaps when they get stressful. How do you think God responds? Well, I often find I get asked just the right questions, and usually, even if I don't, I'm still in a good frame of mind. I usually start stuffing up when I forget about Him. I don't get any, like, miracle answers popping into my head though. Well, hey, how important are exams really anyway? What can help his response? I'm not sure I understand the question. And any other related things you can think of. I'll tell you guys what's really fun - go into the exam and use it as an act of worship! I did that for an electronics test once, it felt so good. D: What do you think about praying before an exam? I always do it - because it's only by God that I can do anything and only for God that it has any meaning. Why do you do it (if you do)? I like talking to him. And he keeps me calm. How do you think God responds? Well, I remember stuff I never consciously learned, and I sometimes have inspirational thoughts. He doesn't always answer spectacularly but every now and then, he does. What can help his response? ??? I'm not sure anything can really change his mind. I try to pray as much as I can though and to do all the study I need to. And any other related things you can think of. Sort of a brief testimony, which is probably the most spectacular (for me) at the time God has done stuff in exams. Once during a calc test, I couldn't work out how to answer the question so I prayed, some numbers (a=16, b=4) came into my head, so I wrote them down. They had left a page for working but the answer was right and I got the marks with just the answers, no working. I'm sure that was God. E: My argument for it is in Daniel 1:17-20 (NIV) "To these four young men [Daniel, Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meschach), and Azariah (Abednego)] God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning...In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better then all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom." God gives what is needed but he will (generally) only help you if you help yourself he gave them knowledge and understanding but what good is knowledge and understanding of what you know if you don't know anything so God will help you but it only helps if you work for it. I believe it is good to pray before an exam for though the Lord knows what you want before you want it he still likes to hear you ask. I used to believe that if you prayed to him he would give you all the answers, though I have heard of cases where he has given an answer, but I have never heard of him giving a whole test. I believe that he will only work with what he has got to work with and that it is you, if you study hard before the exam then the Lord has far more to work with than if you just pray to him before you enter the exam. And I learnt this recently, the HARD way, with my Phys 113 exam I gave the Lord basically nothing to work with, and it showed, I could see so myself. What I pray for before an exam is peace so that I don't stress out during an exam, wisdom and knowledge to recall all that I have learnt and studied pertaining to the course. Also what I know do is way before an exam like a week (which when you have my study habits is a long time) is to ask for focus and knowledge while studying so that I can understand what I am absorbing and not be distracted by nuisances. I also at that same time dedicate the exam to God and give it to him as I should do with all things so that whatever I do I will try my hardest in praise of him. I have heard that the earlier you have dedicated it to him then the more time he has to work with you in preparation for it; for he is the goal yet he also is the guide. F: I don't reckon there's anything wrong with praying before an exam. I do think asking to pass when you've done no study or anything is a bit off, and since God doesn't like laziness, I reckon if you were to try it the results would be interesting... But also, it in the Bible that in everything we do, we're to do it for Christ, ie. to the best of our ability-so asking God to calm you down before an exam and to help you remember everything you have studied is just a plain good idea. 'Cause if you're not slack, why on earth wouldn't he help you? Trust me asking God to help without study is like asking a pig to fly you've given God nothing to work with which he could use to help you. I didn't do much study at all for my Phys 113 paper I could only answer four out of six questions at first I did answer the other two but very shockingly. But are you suggesting that if we study God is under some sort of obligation to help us? He is though more likely to help us if we help ourselves if we try with all our might to reach the top of a mountain then at some stage God may step in and say you've got yourself this far let me take you the rest. If you study before an exam and you've done the hard yards then with any questions which you don't think you will be able to answer then God is more likely to help you there because you had done the hard yards before hand than if you decided to rely entirely on him without putting any effort in yourself. G: The verse in 1 Thessalonians it says if a man does not work he does not eat. We should definitely do the hard work before an exam so that we can pass. BUT we must remember who gives us the ability to study in the first place: are we really going to give God some knowledge that WE have acquired just so he has something to work with? Can we, the created being, give anything to our creator? Obviously not our ability to study too, comes from God and only through his grace do we know and learn. Asking for wisdom is spoken of in the bible and I pray each day for Godly wisdom so I can discern what his will is for me in my life. And as you pointed out God gave those men of the old testament times knowledge and understanding, and He continues to today, to us. One of your original questions stated, "What can help his response?" this I think is a dangerous position to hold, as God is sovereign over all (if you disagree we can always take this outside!) how can we affect Him in any way? We may not know His reasons but He has His will planned out well in advance, not that I am taking a hyper-Calvinist point of view in that I shouldn't evangelise cos God's worked out His elect already and I can't change this. But rather evangelising cos I don't know who is chosen. And considering it a privilege to be use by God even though I am full of sin and totally depraved before Him. I believe your motives are very noble. And something I need to continually remind myself of, that I do all things for God's glory and therefore need to give it my all. As for pray, we are commanded to do it, and we should find joy in doing it. God may not always answer the way we want but rather the way He has predestined for us. Praying for anything is also important as you said praying for His peace as well as doing well. What was meant by the question "what can help his response?" was what could you do so that it would be easier for him to help you? but that still isn't right the way I answered it was to study for it helps so far as that it gives him more to work with (refer to my response). God may choose to help you pass if you had done no study at all, and make you fail if you had worked ya guts out. The thing is that He will choose to do what is in His will. And we study before exams as a response to God's grace which He freely gives to us, not for anything we have done, but just because He felt like it. It is up to God whether he helps you or not. He can give you all the answers or none at all. But if you work hard with all your might in study then God is more likely to help you because you put in the effort rather than just leaving it in his hands you decide to work for it. God although He helps us out of sticky situations prefers more when we try to do something by ourselves for him, then he is likely to reward us. We study every day leading up to the exam and get a B+ on your own he then is likely to say you did the hard yards so he gives you a hand getting you an A. We work hard for him and he gives us a cherry on top, over and above what we could have got on our own steam. But what can we do on our own? In our own strength? God is both the goal and the guide. But we can choose what we do for God gave us freewill to do as we choose for good or for ill. Therefore, when we try to use our own strength of our own will then He will step in and help us achieve the impossible. I hope that this has been enlightening for you God bless, Jared May-trix |
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