Today’s message of Hope, comes from Adventures Regional Logistics Representative, Joshua Beebe. He shares how prayer walks in college changed his life and how we can virtually prayer walk our campuses right now from our homes.
I’m writing today from my porch in Northeast Georgia. Months ago I had made plans to celebrate Easter with my family in the Midwest. Due to current events, those plans changed. Instead of being with loved ones in Iowa, I celebrated the empty tomb while social distancing here in Georgia.
As I think about home, I’m reminded of the people there who have invested in my faith journey over the years. Many of these people I met during my college years at Upper Iowa University.
Upper Iowa is a special place that provided me with a unique college experience. There are around 1,000 students in a town of around 1,000 people. It’s the only town I can think of that has a university, but not a stoplight. With a close-knit community and few distractions, it was the ideal place for me to learn and grow.
I was involved with our campus ministry and was one of a handful of students and staff who had been praying for revival on our campus. My sophomore year, some folks from Intervarsity Christian Fellowship came to Upper Iowa to do a prayer walk. They had been praying for our school for months and decided to make a trip to spend the day with us. One thing led to another and we ended up going to a conference with them a few weeks later.
There are moments in our lives when we can look back and know that we heard the voice of the Lord. One of those moments happened on the last night of the conference. I asked the Lord to highlight a scripture for me and heard Isaiah 56:7 “…for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” I wanted that verse to come alive through me on my campus.
This prayer led to incredible friendships with international students. These friendships opened my eyes and helped me learn about places and cultures different from mine. As these friendships grew, so did my desire to experience my friends’ cultures first hand and to see the Kingdom come there. You may have already guessed, this was a huge influence in me choosing the World Race.
This all happened because a couple of strangers decided to pray for my campus. They weren’t setting out to recruit people for a retreat or hoping that a student would go on a mission trip someday. These people were simply following the leading of the Holy Spirit, were obedient as they felt led to our campus, and trusted that their simple prayers were enough.
In a time of social distancing, what if we believed that our simple prayers are still enough? And in response, what if we covered every campus across the country in virtual prayer walks?
Everycampus.com is a great resource that can help you plan your virtual prayer walk! Once you choose a college to pray over, they will send you an email with scripture and listening prayer prompts to guide you. As of today, 773 campuses in the USA still need to be covered in prayer. Whether it’s your alma mater, home to your favorite football team, or a completely random school, would you join me on a prayer walk today?
