On Feb. 6, students experienced community and time of prayer through a 24 Hours of Prayer event. Starting at 7 a.m., students signed up for 30-minute time slots to pray for the student body, staff and faculty.
Uniquely student-led, the 24 hours of prayer event had a high turn out, and was well-supported by faculty and staff."
“So this particular time of prayer is not being driven because an administrator thinks it should happen,” Gregory Dyson, vice president for spiritual life and intercultural leadership, said.” Students have decided that they want to do 24 hours of prayer. So the reason we're doing it is because students say so.”
This event was a reminder to students and staff alike of the power of prayer and how it can bring the entire campus together. Freshman Hailey Schroer experienced this through the event and felt that it was good for her to make the time commitment prayer.
“It was cool because we weren't there together necessarily, but we are connected in spirit,” Schroer said. “To think about how God was hearing all the same things from different people at the same time was just so cool to be a part of that Christian community in that way. I was just really struck by how special that is.”
Sophomore Evan Smith was one of the students that initiated the event. In last year’s spring semester, Smith and a group of students wanted to incorporate more prayer on campus and give students a space to pray in a special way.
Smith believes that when prayer is approached in a different way like how it is done with 24 Hours of Prayer, it can lead to unique and memorable moments and help the Taylor community establish a stronger culture of regular prayer.
Floors, wings and individuals reserved time slots to fulfill the full 24 hours and broadly mentioned what they were praying for. A wide variety of topics were prayed and every available time slot was filled.
Some students have found unique ways of approaching their own 24 hours of prayer, giving the experience its own uniqueness.
Senior Sydney Anderson, who participated in 24 hours of prayer on two different occasions, once experienced it with a shared journal. Everyone wrote what they were praying about in the journal and turned the moment into an individual and shared experience.
“We could just come to the Lord as we were,” Anderson said. “But there's something special about doing it with other people, where you're together, unified, talking to the Lord about the things that are shared among a community.”
College students can easily find themselves distracted by the busyness and sometimes laborious moments of campus life. By setting apart a time to specifically pray and devote themselves to prayer and scripture, students can be more accountable and may find themselves becoming more regularly mindful of Christ.
By regularizing prayer, people may also be able to avoid the pitfall of just praying when they are at their lowest.
“Oftentimes, it's easy to go to God when things are really bad,” junior Michael Hoover said. “But it's important to remember to go to God in all things.”
In a tumultuous world, regular prayer is important in keeping the mind at peace and remembering that God is in control of everything.
As Philippians 4:6-7 states— "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."
