The Effects of COVID-19 on Students, and the Anchor of Prayer and Meditation
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape of education almost overnight. Classrooms went silent, campuses closed, and students — many of them already navigating the pressures of work, family, and ministry — were left to continue their studies in isolation. For students in urban communities in particular, the disruption was not just academic. It touched every part of life: routines were upended, support systems were scattered, and the steady rhythms that once anchored daily learning gave way to uncertainty.
The Toll on Students
Research and lived experience both tell the same story. Students reported higher levels of anxiety, loneliness, and burnout. Many lost access to reliable internet, quiet study space, or consistent mentorship. For bivocational students balancing work, ministry, and family, the pandemic often meant choosing between provision and preparation. Learning loss was real, but so was spiritual and emotional fatigue. The classroom was not the only thing that closed; for many, a sense of stability closed with it.
At PCUTS, we believe that theological education is never just about information. It is about formation, of the mind, and of the soul. So when we consider the effects of the pandemic on our students, we cannot separate the academic conversation from the spiritual one.
Prayer and Meditation as an Anchor
Scripture does not promise students an easy road. It promises something better: a steady God who meets us in the disruption. When Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, he was not writing from comfort. He was writing from prison. Yet his instruction still holds for every student who has ever felt overwhelmed by circumstances beyond their control:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:6–7
Prayer is not a passive activity. It is the discipline of bringing our real circumstances, canceled classes, financial strain, isolation, grief, directly to a God who is near. And meditation, in the biblical sense, is not the emptying of the mind but the filling of it with truth. Joshua was told:
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” — Joshua 1:8
For a student trying to hold together a class schedule, a job, a household, and a calling, meditating on Scripture is not one more task on the list. It is the practice that makes carrying the rest of the list possible.
A Refuge in Uncertain Seasons
The psalmist wrote during his own season of upheaval:
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” — Psalm 46:1
And the prophet Isaiah offered this promise to a people living through exile and uncertainty:
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” — Isaiah 26:3
These are not verses written for easy seasons. They were written for people in the middle of loss, displacement, and fear, the same conditions many students faced during the pandemic, and the same conditions many continue to carry as they finish the work COVID-19 interrupted.
Moving Forward Together
To every PCUTS student who lost time, lost routine, or lost a sense of normalcy during the pandemic: you are not alone, and you have not been forgotten. God is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18), and He is faithful to complete the work He began in you (Philippians 1:6).
As you return to your studies, whether through Cairn University, Howard University School of Divinity, or through the courses offered here at PCUTS, we encourage you to build prayer and Scripture meditation into your daily rhythm, not as an addition to your education, but as the foundation of it. The classroom will always be secondary to the formation happening in your heart.
