The Omnibus

Prayer in SBU's classroom forgotten

Donnie Boenker

Issue date: 10/21/04 Section: The Forum

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Southwest Baptist University is a Christian university. Every semester, I have been asked, either personally or in my how professors can integrate Christianity in the classrooms. Every semester, I give the same answer: prayer. I must admit that I am shocked that only four of the many professors I have had pray in class dailly, on a consistent basis.

Prayer classes should not be mandated, nor is prayer the only answer -- but, it is a start. I firmly believe prayer in classrooms is a good thing. Excellent things can come out of praying as a class.

Is there a certain reason why more professors do not pray in classes?

I am not putting our professors down, but I wonder why prayer in the classroom at SBU is rare. It is my personal opinion that we as Christians tend to "back off" from certain situations, hoping we do not make others uncomfortable.

In response, I say this: Students are not forced to attend SBU. We choose to come here, and while I am glad individuals have chosen SBU, we as Baptists need not back away from our beliefs. This includes praying in the classroom.

Think about this: Would it really hurt to give our Lord God the first few minutes of each class period? That's only six minutes total for Tuesday / Thursday classes, and nine for Monday / Wednesday / Friday classes. I think we could stand to lose that much time to talk to our Creator. If not, something is wrong.

To those professors who already pray every class period, I encourage you to continue. Give those few, but meaningful minutes each week to come together with your students and talk to God.

To those who do not pray in their classes, I encourage you to start. Can it really hurt?

When I consider this situation, it seems the only time prayers are said, is when students are leaving from breaks, or encountering test dates. Dont get me wrong, that is a good thing! I would just like to strongly encourage professors to give God the first few minutes of each of your classes.

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