Prayer for Exams & Study
For the night before the exam — when the deadline is close, the pages are many, and the result cannot wait.
For the student at the desk, and for anyone facing a test, a deadline, or a presentation that feels bigger than the time left to prepare for it — pray slowly, and then go and study. Prayer is not a substitute for the work; it is asking not to face the work alone, and not at the last panicked minute. Saint Expedite is the saint who does not delay — bring him the procrastination too.
The Prayer
Say the name of the exam, the course, or the deadline where the prayer leaves room for it:
Prayer to Saint Expedite for Exams
Saint Expedite, I come to you with a deadline in front of me and too little time behind me. You are the saint of the urgent hour — and (say the exam, the course, or the deadline) is mine.
Quicken my mind. Sharpen my memory for what I have studied, and help me study well what remains. Take away the delay that has wasted my days — the putting-off, the dread, the blank page. Let me begin now, and work steadily, one page at a time.
When I sit down to the test, keep me calm and clear. Let what I know come back to me when I need it. Let me read each question carefully, and answer with a steady hand. And whatever the result, let me meet it honestly, knowing I prepared and I prayed. Saint Expedite, do not delay. Hodie. Amen.
Then Pray the Classic Prayer
Prayer to Saint Expedite for Urgent Help
Saint Expedite, you lay in rest.
I come to you and ask that this wish be granted.
(Here, clearly express what you want, and ask him to find a way to get it to you.)
Expedite now what I ask of you.
Expedite now what I want of you, this very second.
Don’t waste another day.
Grant me what I ask for.
I know your power, I know you because of your work.
I know you can help me.
Do this for me and I will spread your name with love and honor
so that it will be invoked again and again.
Expedite this wish with speed, love, honor, and goodness.
Glory to you, Saint Expedite!
Light a Candle for the Exam
Light a free virtual candle in the shrine’s chapel before the exam, and let it burn while you study and while you sit the test — a small flame standing watch over the work.
Light a free candle for your most urgent need. And think of someone in your family, or in your circle, who could use a candle too — and light one for them as well.
You can also place your intention on the shrine’s petition wall, so others are praying with you through the exam days.
If the pressure is about work rather than study, there is a prayer for finding a job; for needs that cannot wait at all, the shrine’s prayer for urgent needs. More prayers are on the prayers page.