Written by: Samantha Burgess, editor in chief
As college students, most of us are guilty of getting swept up in the busy schedules of our day to day life.
We get so focused on homework assignments, sports, extracurricular activities and spending time with friends that we lose sight of the importance of being still. We forget to set aside time to not only be in God’s word, but to be in His presence through prayer.
That’s why coordinators Timothy Hostetler and Katelyn Novak want to refocus this year’s Day of Prayer around actively praying every day.
“Our focus is to encourage students to boldly approach God in prayer and to remind them that we should make prayer a daily habit in our lives,” said Hostetler, a graduate assistant in discipleship and Christian formation.
The Bryan College Day of Prayer 2019, held on Oct. 30, will begin with an on-campus prayer walk at 8:30 a.m. beginning at the Latimer Center’s concrete steps.
Following the prayer walk, students will meet separately in their dorm lounges at 10:20 a.m. where RAs and discipleship group leaders of each dorm will guide students in prayer.
The main event of the day will be a prayer focused chapel at 11 a.m.
“This chapel isn’t going to be a corporate worship chapel like the ones in years past,” said Hostetler. “While there will be some singing and updates about what’s going on around campus, our primary focus is going to solely be setting aside time to pray together as a student body.”
Following chapel, students will have the rest of the afternoon to go to the Prayer Gallery on the second floor of Latimer.
The goal of the Prayer Gallery is to highlight how critical prayer has been in the lives and ministries of the great men and women of the faith,” said Katelyn Novak, leader of the campus Prayer Initiative. “It will contain quotes and historical accounts about the impact and importance of prayer.”
The game room across from the gallery will be shut down and filled with individual stations for specific prayer needs that students can go to and pray for. These stations will range from students, faculty and staff to the surrounding community and the world to global missions and the church.
“You don’t have to go to every station,” said Hostletler. “The intent is for students to see opportunities in which they can specifically pray and direct their focus on things they feel are important.”
Hostetler wants to encourage students to make an effort to make this day about renewing their relationship with God through prayer and not just as a day off to catch up on homework or sleep.
“Prayer shows us that the Lord is faithful and reminds us that He truly cares for us,” said Hostetler. “Even more than that, it’s a reminder that we have a two way relationship with God. He speaks to us through Scripture and then prayer is our chance to respond to God and have fellowship with Him.”
Novak added that God was willing to send His Son to the cross in order to restore prayer and our relationship with Him, which is why as believers we should take it seriously.
Samantha Burgess is a senior communication major with an emphasis in digital media and is editor in chief for the Triangle. Her interests in writing include profiles and feature articles. Burgess can often be found curled up with a good book, writing, listening to music or watching Netflix.
