Ever wondered about the role of prayer in the life of a chaplain?

The Bible is clear on the place of prayer in our lives.

As Philippians 4:6 says, ‘do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God.’

In everything we do, prayer is essential.

Without your prayers for our work here at SU Australia, everything done in Jesus name to love children, young people and families across Australia would amount to nothing.

We asked Sam, now Field Development Manager in Central Queensland, to reflect on her many years as a chaplain, and on the place of prayer in her service, both then, and now. This is what she said:

“I actually found that I used prayer in lots of different contexts.

“If I come up against a difficult situation with a student, or a heartbreaking situation, I just do a bit of a prayer walk … I wander around my school and just keep praying.

“I think my daily prayer was, ‘God, give me the eyes to see what is not in front of me, and give me the ears to hear what is not being spoken…’ Because that’s so important in a kids world, they can’t always show you, and they can’t always tell you.

“Prayer should always be our first port of call. But, you know, we’re human.

“It’s not always our first, sometimes it’s our fifth down the track. But the number of times that I’ve just prayed and, you know, waited on God to see him move in that space … you can’t deny that you need it every day.”

Our prayers fuel and sustain the work of SU Australia to meet and support young people where they are. To stay up to date with the prayer needs of SU Ministries, sign up to our monthly prayer newsletter Pray and Connect at su.org.au/pray.