Asking for Help 

Salt and Light Campus Ministry  

By Brent Davis, Ministry Coordinator 

“Please, pray for me.” Almost every week, one or more students ask me to pray for them, which I am always very glad to do. I also look at my own workload and realize I need help! In his book, Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager, i Ken Blanchard states that the third trick of self leadership is being proactive, finding resources and asking for help. He also says that we go through four stages in mastering a skill (which are similar to the stages of culture shock, BTW) and which I have simplified here: high motivation and low competence, low motivation and low competence, low motivation and high competence, and high motivation and high competence. This developmental view should be combined with Patrick Lencioni’s six types of working geniusii which reflects the fact that we tend to be more gifted in some areas than others and that working for an extended period of time in an area that is not our gift also leads to low motivation. When our motivation is down, we need to ask for support. When our competence is low, we need to ask for direction. In the case of a recent student, the issue seemed to be more competence. When I asked the student what specifically she wanted prayer for, it was for better grades. So, I asked one of the professors what seemed to be the root cause of poor performance on tests, and she thought it was related to poor study skills, definitely a competence issue. If you are not sure where we are going with this example, the point is to understand that often God answers our prayers by giving either direction or support through another believer, like Barnabas (Acts 13) whose name literally means ‘encouragement.’ Sometimes, as in the case of Elijah, He sends an Elisha to take over some of our work which is the answer I am looking for (not a total transfer—just to hand off some of my responsibilities).  

Back to our example of a possible answer to prayer for our student, another issue the professor noted is ‘applying knowledge to new contexts.’ So, what direction could we give to our student? When the student studies she needs to ask: “What will I be asked to do on a test?” Now, we know from the professor that there will be application questions. In general, many tests are designed to elicit information related to course outcomes, and those in turn are often formulated using Bloom’s taxonomy. So, by looking at typical application questions connected with Bloom’s taxonomy a student can test him or herself before the test. 

Bloom’s taxonomy: Application questions iii 

Apply an abstract idea in a concrete situation to solve a problem or relate it to prior experience. The teacher should: • Provide opportunities for the student to use ideas, theories, or problem-solving techniques and apply them to new situations. • Review the student’s work to ensure that he/she is using problem solving techniques independently. • Provide questions that require the student to define and solve problems. Questioning prompts: What actions would you take to perform _________________? How would you develop _____________ to present _______________?  What would the result be if ________________? How would you demonstrate ____________________? How would you present _________________? How would you change _________________? How would you modify _____________?  

Of course, an application question requires that some parameters or situational information be given as well. There is, of course, a lot more that could  be said about study techniques.  

James writes, “If any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. He will give it to you. God gives freely to everyone and doesn’t find fault” (James 1: 5). We need wisdom (or direction), we need support or encouragement. Sometimes we need someone to carry our heavy burdens (Galatians 6: 2). In Salt and Light we are building a community that God can use to answer prayer. Just ask!