Prayer For A Graduate
Dear God, we ask for your Holy Spirit to cover our children in your great peace and security. We pray that their thoughts would not be drawn to worry and fear, but instead by filled with the strength and confidence of your power every day. Help them to believe without question that you are surely with them, in whatever they may face, that they are never alone. Help them to know that you are mighty within them. We pray that you would plant deep inside their hearts a sense of overflowing gratitude, that they would be free from the love of money, and would walk in the freedom of contentment with an amazing spirit of giving to others. We pray that out of their lives would flow service, love, generosity, and compassion in a world that desperately needs to see your goodness in action. And when fear and anxiety battle against them, we pray that your words of truth will seal them in like a shield, giving them strength, and guarding their hearts and minds in your powerful peace.
Dear God, we pray that you would give our children wisdom and direction in making decisions, and in each new situation and journey you have for them now. Teach them to listen closely to your voice, that they would have a heart to obey your Word and have a desire to make the right choices. We pray that these we love so much would walk faithfully and diligently in all your ways. We ask that you would make their footsteps firm, that your Word would be a constant lamp for their feet and a light to their path. May they sense the freshness of your Spirit over their lives in amazing ways, and may they be strengthened, instilled with hope, for the new roads you have in store. We ask for your wisdom and clear direction over their lives, that you would give them understanding beyond their years. We ask for you to open doors that need to be opened and close every one that should be shut tight. Allow every gift and treasure you have placed inside their lives to grow, develop, and flourish to bring you glory.
Dear God, we ask you for your powerful protection over our children as they go different places and embark on new journeys in life. We ask that you would watch over their paths, and keep their footsteps secure. Protect their coming and going. We ask that you would cover them from behind and guard them from all evil. We pray that no weapon formed against them will prosper and that you would be their constant shield and defender from the enemy's attacks. Please hide them in your shadow of your wings; be their refuge and security in every place they go. We pray that you would give them a deep awareness of sin, that they would be quick to confess when they've done wrong and have the heart to make it right. We ask for freedom from condemnation or fear. We pray that you would help them when they face temptations in this life, remembering that you are always there and able to help them overcome. We ask you to guard their steps from evil, give them diligence in turning away from what is wrong, that they would be bold to say no to what is wrong and yes to what is right.
Dear God, we ask that you help our children to walk in your wisdom and grace. We pray for spiritual eyes and discernment in all things. Help them to be wise leaders and influencers in this generation, not conformed to the world, but transformed by your power. We ask that you would equip them with all that they need to make a difference for your purposes. Help them to live as salt and light in a dark world that so desperately needs to know your truth. We ask for your power to help them to walk continually in honesty and integrity. Build within them deep godliness, that they would be more concerned about their character than their reputation. We pray that they would seek to bring honor to You throughout their lives, that they would have a vision and heart for the world. Extend their boundaries and give them incredible influence with people and nations. Make their hearts and spirits open to every plan and purpose you have for them, and to be willing to boldly go wherever You call.
Good and loving God-
We thank you for the completion of another academic year, and for giving us the opportunity,
short though it may have been, to play a part in the lives of our students and our new
graduates. We are grateful for your guidance and love as we shared in this important work.
Please bless and guide our graduates as they reach this end, and as they chart new beginnings.
May what they have learned by being here with us allow them to truly be "women and men for
others." May what we have learned from them enable us to be the same.
Please help them to use all that they have learned here to make the world a better place - to
serve others in true solidarity and kinship - to seek ways to help the poor, the marginalized,
and those who are suffering - and to always seek the greater good.
We know that some of them will experience pain and hardship, and we know that some of
them already have, and we ask you to grant them solace and strength.
Finally, Father, we thank you for giving us the opportunity to build our community with these
young men and women while they are here. Though they are leaving our campus, we know
that they will always be with us as part of the Xavier family, and we ask that the bonds that
have been created here remain strong despite any distance.
We ask all of this in your name, and in the name of your Son.
Thank you, Lord!
For the reaching of this end
And for this new beginning
For the joy in finished aims and goals
And the evidence of winning
Have mercy on these graduates
As they bask in their successes
Please guide them to their destinies
And show them love that blesses
We ask for You to lead each one
Through missteps they may suffer
On the road to gaining wisdom
Finding faith and hope that buffers
Please touch each heart with joy and peace
As Commencement gives promotion
And fill each life with love's increase
Of strength and deep devotion
For this eager class of graduates
Beribboned with degrees
Please bless them at this starting gate
With all the keys they'll need.
Thank you, Lord.
Dear Lord,
As I look toward the future
Bright hope conducts this prayer,
For I know the plans You have for me
Were wrought with divine care.
Holy Spirit, lead me.
Let me run at Your command,
Yet be still and know that You are God
When trouble is close at hand.
Your Word will be a lamp for me,
A guide to light my way,
A solid place to set my feet,
A compass when I stray.
May I live my life to praise You,
Not for fortune, nor for fame,
May everything I say and do
Bring glory to Your name.
May my eyes stay fixed upon You
As I seek the way that's pure,
Tasting Your love and goodness
Sleeping and rising secure.
Planted by Your living streams
I'll delight in all Your ways,
Hidden by Your sheltering wings
With new mercies for each day.
Even in a dangerous land
When storms threaten to destroy,
At the cross I'll stand upon the Rock
My Strength, my Hope, my Joy.
Dear Lord, show me Your favor,
At all times keep me blessed,
May Your face ever shine upon me,
With peace and perfect rest.
Gracious and Loving God,
We ask, now, for your almighty hand to be upon our graduates as they and their families celebrate this grand milestone.
May they find comfort from our community's continued embrace and support as they journey through life.
May they find strength in the excellence of their academic preparation and the long line of the Jesuit educational tradition - for with it, today, they join a nearly 500 year old network of local, national and global alumni who are their kindred companions.
Bless their lives from this day on with goodness and success.
Enable them
- to stay true to their dreams for your greater glory,
- to discern what is right, good and just, and
- to use their gifts wisely and in service to others.
Empower them to walk into the future with faith, hope, and great love guided by your light so that they may use their talents to, in the words of St. Ignatius Loyola, "Go forth and set the world on fire."
Grace be to them, grace be to us all.