A Prayer for Study

If you are in seminary, I know the study sessions and coffee are flowing, and tests and examinations are around the corner. Page counts and word counts abound. There is much to read and remember and rejoice in as well. Or maybe you are preparing a sermon or Bible study and feel overwhelmed; perhaps this prayer from Thomas Aquinas can become your own. These words are a great reminder and example of what to pray as we study. Aquinas takes us Godward—honoring God, depending on God for help, and honoring Christ in our studies.

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Creator of all things,
true Source of light and wisdom,
lofty origin of all being,
graciously let a ray of Your brilliance
penetrate into the darkness of my understanding
and take from me the double darkness
in which I have been born,
an obscurity of both sin and ignorance.
Give me a sharp sense of understanding,
a retentive memory,
and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations,
and the ability to express myself
with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning,
direct the progress,
and help in completion;
through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

— Thomas Aquinas