Prayer for a New College Year*
Lord, I’m standing at the door
Of this new untarnished year;
Help me live it all for thee,
Use me in Thy service here.
May this be a fruitful year,
With Thy will, Lord, uppermost.
Give me strength for each new need,
Power of the Holy Ghost.
May I help the lives I touch
On the campus day by day;
Help me share another’s load,
Strengthen others on their way.
Help me ever see Thy will;
Help me do the will I see;
Make my life Thine own this year;
Let Thy life be lived through me.
In the paths that led thus far
Thou has been so near to me.
Strengthen, help me, use me, Lord,
All throughout this year to be.
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*Elva McAllaster, “Prayer for a New College Year,” The Papyrus 69 (11), no. 3 (1987).
Dr. Elva McAllaster (1922-1997) was the author and poet of many books, short stories, and poems. She taught English at Seattle Pacific College, Westmont College, and Greenville College. Dr. McAllaster’s papers reside in the Ruby E. Dare Library at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois. This poem was printed in the Greenville College newspaper in 1987.
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