"And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.” "
John 1:17 HCSB
Greetings prayer partner,
In February, our nation celebrated the Collegiate Day of Prayer, a day for students to unite in prayer for their campuses, and for parents, grandparents, and believers of all ages to pray specifically for and with these young people. One gathering included students and young people from around the country to celebrate the day and share about what they are experiencing on their campuses. All of them said the same thing – it’s a mighty move of God.
It can ONLY be God who is stirring a hunger in hearts, who is moving in campuses with no connection to one another, in massive gatherings and tiny dorm room Bible studies.
Of course, many ministries like the Collegiate Day of Prayer have been faithful to follow God’s call to gather for prayer and evangelism, but there is only one name that is being spoken about as the turning point – Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God.
These young people testified that they aren’t just having casual faith conversations, they are having encounters with Christ.
When I was in college in the late 2010s, there seemed to be a sense among some of my Christian peers of ‘how worldly can we get, and still get away with it?’ Their choices and activities on nights with no scheduled ministry activities really revealed this perception.
Now, I am hearing students ask a completely different question. Instead of ‘how much of my flesh can I live by?’, they are asking ‘how much holiness and righteousness can I live by?’
Their prayer gatherings are marked by deep humility and repentance. They are surrendering their idols and addictions at the feet of Jesus: substance addictions, screen addictions, and habits of the flesh that bring death to the inner man are being put down and never taken up again, replaced by their faces in God’s Word, their mouths full of the Gospel, and hearts full of the Holy Spirit.
Young people are discovering “the secret place” of prayer, and the power of seeking God daily. They are learning that Christianity isn’t an ‘event’ or weekly attendance, it is a daily lifestyle that shapes every moment of every day, if we surrender fully to Christ and obey His Word.
Students are asking God to bring spiritual elders into their lives to shepherd their souls and to fan their flame. It isn’t for us older believers to imprint our stories, preferences, and ways of doing things onto a young person – it’s about living life together, encouraging one another to keep growing and keep running the race of faith with endurance, giving God our excellence in every season.
We rejoice when we see that God is bringing thousands of students together in rallies for prayer and teaching! We also rejoice when we see God bringing new life to dry bones: prayer groups growing on campuses that previously had no known Gospel-centered group or club!
God is truly doing a mighty work!
Even here in my city of Las Vegas, I am seeing God move in young people. I have recently spoken with two moms in two separate situations, who both told me that their junior-high aged sons have asked if they can start going to church. Both moms were adamant that their households were in no way religious before their children asked these questions. In one case, the family started going to church together last fall, at the request of the son, and they began attending regularly through the winter and spring. Now, on Resurrection Sunday, the mom, son, and daughter are all going to make professions of faith in Christ Jesus and be baptized!
Will you join me in prayer?
Lord, I lift up young people to you today, I pray that you would draw them to yourself, and for those who have already made a profession of faith in Jesus, fan that flame of faith into a fire that will burn in every season to come. May their roots run deep, becoming a transformed generation on their campuses, in their jobs and careers, even as they take the next steps in building careers and families. Give them boldness to proclaim Your Gospel as the source of their hope. Bring spiritual elders into their lives to disciple them, to demonstrate what it looks like to walk in life and godliness everyday, and to encourage them to seek You. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Amy Parks
Communications Director
