“Gather. Unite. Pray. Come Together.”

It's tough being a student today, especially a Christian student. Students are faced with so many choices and they are not always sure which direction to take, and so today, we gathered at the Fairview flagpole to pray.

Prayer is an awesome thing! Not necessarily because of what it does for us, but because of what it does in and through us. As we bow our hearts, minds, and body to the King of the universe something happens inside. If we try to participate without bowing, nothing happens. It is in the act of submitting to God, which starts the change, and so today, we gathered at the Fairview flagpole to pray.

One of the most challenging aspects of prayer is being able to love with sacrificial compassion those for whom we pray. One of the clearest examples of this is found in Exodus 32, where the Israelites have gotten into a difficult situation. God’s people once again have defied His command, have given up on Him and turned to idolatry. God is justifiably angry at the people, and plans to destroy them and says to Moses, “I will make you a great nation (Ex. 32:10).” What Moses does in the next verse is incredible to me. He seeks out the favor of God on behalf of the people. One commentator has translated the essence of v.11 to mean that Moses literally smoothed the wrinkles on God’s face. This is truly amazing, because I know that Moses was not always delighted to serve these people. They were always grumbling and giving him attitude about this and attitude about that. Have you ever experienced the kind of people I’m talking about. Yet somehow, Moses is able to look past the grief of all they have said and done, and see that God has planned to bless all nations through this people. So he prays, and pleads with God to turn His wrath away from the Israelites. His prayer is efficacious and the Lord relents from causing harm to His people.

Everyday students draw lines around whom they will let in and who they will lock out. There are lines because of grade level, lines about academic performance (overachievers, underachievers, geniuses, and slackers), lines about the groups, etc. The lines are invisible, but we see them clearly every day. Many are asking, "Where do I belong? Who cares about me? Why don't I fit in? Why is it that some people so mean? How can things ever be different?" So today, we gathered at the Fairview flagpole to pray. See You at the Pole™ wasn’t about groups, grades, clothes, or churches. It was about praying. It was about all of us coming together and laying aside all the labels to call upon God, just as Jesus did in John 17 and say, "Lord, may we be one in you and may the world believe that You are real and have sent us to touch others through you."

Have you prayed today?

Thanks for reading.