Praying for scientists

In times like these, there is no shortage of things to pray for. It can feel overwhelming to know where to begin. 

And yet, Scripture instructs us to pray often, and Jesus even teaches us how to pray. 

Admittedly, some things are harder to pray about than others, especially, the things we know the least about, or are disconnected from.

Scientists and the scientific enterprise can be one of those things. 

For many scientists, the challenges they face are very real: mass layoffs, research funding cuts, and rescinded grants that have impacted livelihoods and threatened job security, as well as threats to their own safety in an increasingly polarized world characterized by misinformation and hostility towards science, from vaccines to climate change. The future of science can feel uncertain, especially when the next generation of scientists faces increased obstacles in the pipeline to a career in science, from lack of diversity initiatives to fewer opportunities for training and development.

Scientists know the needs of those in their community very well and are well positioned to pray concretely and precisely about these needs.

But for many non-scientists, they may be unaware. Perhaps they are far removed or overwhelmed and burdened by their own pressing needs that hit closer to home. They may not know the extent to which scientists need prayer. They may not know the extent to which their siblings in Christ who are scientists have been impacted.

I recently came across the Message translation of Ephesians 6:13-18 that seemed especially relevant here; it reads: "Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get … Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life … Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out."

As a scientist and Christian, this passage reminds me that when we feel like we are up against more than we can handle on our own, we need all the help we can get from each other. The passage also instructs us to pray for each other, as well as to keep our eyes open to the things that impact and concern our siblings so that they can be encouraged and continue in the work.

While this article is primarily about praying for scientists, I too as a scientist am reminded to pray for my siblings who are not. To remember my own ignorance of the needs of those outside my own experiences, life, and work, who too feel like they are up against more than they can handle.

I offer a short list of ways to pray for scientists, but I would say that these tips aren't exclusively for scientistscwe can implement these practices of prayer for other professions as well. 

1. Short and simple is OK

I have young kids, ages 2 and 4, and before we eat, my husband and I ask them to pray. Our oldest simply says, "Lord Jesus, we pray for our food, Amen." Sometimes he'll sing a prayer called "God our Father." Our youngest will simply say, "In Jesus' Name, Amen!" 

Their prayers are short and simple, direct, maybe a little rushed (they're hungry and ready to eat!), but I know God hears their prayers.

My kids' prayers remind me that prayers don't have to be long and drawn out and detail-ridden, with paragraphs and footnotes. They can certainly be, but especially when we are learning (in the context of my kids) or not sure where to start, it's okay to start simple.

What might that look like in practice? Consider mentioning scientists in your prayers. It doesn't have to be an entirely separate prayer from one you've already started, but when you remember them, drop a line. "God, I pray for scientists. I don't know all their needs, but you do. Help them in all the ways they need." Or, "God, I pray for scientists, you know every challenge they are facing, help them, and let their work reveal more of your truth, beauty, and goodness to heal our world." Or consider inviting the Holy Spirit to reveal what and how to pray.

Here, I am also reminded of the story of Jesus on the cross hanging between two criminals. One of them asked Jesus to remember him saying: "Remember me when you come into your kingdom." A sermon I remember hearing growing up about this story was that these words were a simple and sincere prayer of salvation—there was no "please forgive me" or "I repent" and there certainly was no time or space for baptism or any other sacraments. But Jesus knew exactly what this man meant, and in response said: "today you will be with me in paradise."

This reminds me that prayer is not just the words that we say, but the heart behind them. We can pray with our words and with our heart and God hears both.

In short, God hears all of our prayers, the short and the long. The spoken and unspoken. God knows before we even ask. And yet God desires to hear from us.

2. Pray for the scientists you know in your life

I often find that it's easier to pray for people I know than for people I don't. I'd recommend looking for the scientists in your own life—someone in your family or church, a friend? Consider asking them to share more about their life and work with you, and what they could use prayer for.

Scientists are people first and foremost with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. As such, their needs will also be diverse. And many scientists have intersectional identities that compound challenges already faced by scientists, such as women, people of color, and immigrants. Scientists in different disciplines may also have unique needs.

By praying for a specific individual and their request, you are both encouraging them and personalizing your prayers.

3. Consider resources written by scientists and lifting up their prayers to God

Jesus is our advocate making intercession for us to God the Father. We too can intercede on behalf of others lifting up their requests to God in any of the ways above, but also by praying their words to God. 

To my knowledge there aren't a lot of resources out there—a quick Google search yields some articles about prayer, and some prayers for scientists here and there. Recently, however, a group I co-lead called the Science Communicators of Faith compiled a free digital resource for Lent, "Prayers, Laments, & Liturgies for Scientific Minds." In this resource you will find poems of praise to God for the biological intricacies that science reveals, petitions for scientists and science teachers, liturgies for our daily labors, and prayers of lament and hope for all of God's creatures and landscapes.

We worked with a talented team of writers to assemble this resource including award-winning author Sy Garte, science writer and journalist Rebecca Randall, ecologist Rick Lindroth and more. Our authors range from early-career scientists and trainees to medical doctors, professors, journalists, theologians and science communicators and represent four countries: the U.S., Denmark, Australia, and New Zealand. The resource was a creative collaboration between the American Scientific Affiliation (ASA), the Mount Carmell Worship Collective—a faith, science, and the arts collective I lead, and ISCAST. We welcome you to use this resource in prayer.