“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” // Ephesians 3:20
Coming to college your prayer life will grow to a new level out of necessity. You will no longer have your parents making decisions for you or your high school best friend to consult first. You will need to talk to God, your one constant, like never before. Talk to Him about your desires and disappointments and ask him questions as you walk across campus, journal at Woods Quad, or pray with your roommates in your dorm. Ask him to show up and move in your daily life.
See how God answers your prayers. Maybe even journal them, so you can make a list of answered prayers and praise God for his goodness to you. The list could include the roommates and friends he will give you, the BCM, the pick-me-ups when you get discouraged, guidance on which church you will join, your summer plans, the beginnings and ends of relationships, jobs, extra-curriculars, and so many little things in between that will help you know how much he loves you and is involved in your life. Maybe you’ll even see him use the dark, uncertain days you must walk through to reveal more of himself to you, giving you that confidence and knowledge of his love that you’ve been asking for.
If you don’t pray, you will miss the ways God is working on this campus and in your life. You won’t ask him for the good things he wants to give you or see how he uses the bad things he allows in your life to bring you into a richer relationship with him.
I don’t want you to miss out, so talk to God! He loves you. He is good and kind.
He has so much in store for you, so ask him to make his promises a reality in your life. Ask him for big dreams that you can’t do on your own. Ask him for little things that pop into your mind. Ask him tough questions. Ask him for help. Ask him to move in ways that you can see and feel and know he is real. And then listen. Wait. See, just see what he will do. Watch and be amazed. In the moments of your prayers and pleading, you won’t know how or when God will answer you.
But as I write to you just a few years later, all I can say is don’t give up praying, seeking God. He is faithful and will accomplish infinitely more in you and those around you than you might ask or think. Take heart :)
Love,
Me Three Years Later
Elise Helton // @elise_navidad07
Senior // English
Alabaster, AL