By Hal Pickus · · 4 min read
A prayer before a test or exam (for calm and a clear mind)
You've studied as much as you're going to. The test is in an hour, or first thing tomorrow, and now your brain is doing the unhelpful thing where it convinces you you've forgotten everything. A quick prayer won't replace the studying — but it will do something the studying can't: it'll quiet you down enough to actually use what you know.
You're not doing this on your own strength
Hold onto the verse people quote for hard things — it fits a test, too:
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Philippians 4:13
A prayer
Lord, I've done the work I could. Now I'm asking for the strength I don't have on my own. Settle my nerves, clear my head, and help me do my best. Amen.
Ask for a calm, clear mind
Panic is the real enemy of a test — it locks up everything you studied. God offers the opposite of panic:
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Isaiah 26:3
"Perfect peace" for a mind that's "stayed on" God. Before you start, take ten seconds to fix your mind on him instead of the fear.
Ask him to bring it back to you
Knowledge and understanding aren't only yours to manufacture — they're things God gives:
For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 2:6
A prayer
God, help me recall what I studied. Bring the right answers to mind, give me wisdom for the questions I'm unsure of, and keep me steady from the first page to the last. Amen.
And hold the grade loosely
Do your best, then leave the result with God — your worth was never a number at the top of a page. And if you're unsure of yourself, just ask him for help:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
James 1:5
If a big exam is weighing on you — or your kid — you can ask others to pray you through it. There's real peace in knowing people are lifting you up while you sit down to take it.