If prayer is more often caught than taught, what are our students learning from us? They’re hearing prayers from the preacher, youth pastors, small group leaders, or Christian influencers online. But when it’s time to offer students an opportunity to volunteer to pray out loud for the group… crickets! What is holding students back?
I’ve worked with thousands of middle and high school students across the country, teaching them prayer through a national movement called Claim Your Campus. We call students to gather with a few friends on campus once a week to pray for change—change in their school, nation, and generation so that people may experience and know Jesus! While I teach, I always make room to listen and understand my audience. Here is what they’re asking about prayer.
“How do I pray regularly in my life?”
Most students would most likely tell you they should “pray more.” Why is that? Why are students feeling shame about their lack of prayer? My hunch is that students are often being told to pray but they don’t know where to start. Simplicity matters! Sharing how we pray regularly or testimonies from other students are powerful and effective to answer questions about prayer that students might not ask out loud. I encourage students to start small and allow their hunger to grow over time.
“What do I pray about?”
When Jesus told His disciples to pray for workers in the harvest, He immediately sent them out to minister to people. He helped them see the need in front of them and then mobilized them into action. Students need to be reminded that if they look around, they will see the needs for harvest. I tell students to reflect on what they see in their schools, their cities, their teams, and their families, and then bring those insights to God. He cares about what is going on in their world!
How do I hear God speak to me?
Through reading Scripture, God speaks his will and his heart for the world. I often encourage students to read a verse while they pray and meditate on its meaning, discuss it with others they are praying with, and then pray for God’s ways to become our ways! It’s important to remind them that when they include Scripture in their prayer time, they are hearing God speak and training their ear to recognize His voice in and outside of these prayer times.
How do I pray when others are listening?
Confidence is a struggle when it comes to prayer! If students only hear preachers praying, they might assume they have to preach when they pray, use theological words, and memorize every verse in the Bible to pray effectively. But I encourage students to be themselves with God and their authenticity will inspire others to be themselves too. Students need our help to know that they don’t have to sound like a preacher when they pray but an honest, desperate friend of God!
Students need our help to know that they don’t have to sound like a preacher when they pray but an honest, desperate friend of God!
Does prayer really change things?
Inviting students to pray for specific things creates opportunities for them to see who God is. When students see answered prayers in their lives, they can look back to those moments when their faith is shaken. They can trust that God hears and God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him, even if it takes time. If they keep praying, not only will things around them change but the student will be changed.
When students see answered prayers in their lives, they can look back to those moments when their faith is shaken.
Claim Your Campus (CYC) gives students an opportunity to find answers to all these questions. While calling students to pray, we are passionate to equip them with tools to practice this regularly with other believers in their lives. On their campus, they can meet regularly with people they spend most of their time with and pray God’s Word and God’s will for others. Guided by Scripture and simple prayer points, someone who has never prayed before or has prayed countless times can participate in a powerful practice that will bring change to their schools with CYC resources.
Go to claimyourcampus.com to learn more about these free resources and to offer something to your students that will help them grow in confidence and passion for prayer!
- How to Answer the Questions Teens Have about Prayer - August 11, 2026