Written by Carly Kester
“Pray for Christine Clemons and her well-being.”
“Pray that we will listen to the answers God gives us, even if we don’t like them.”
These are two of the requests that can be seen on the prayer wall, which is located outside the cafeteria and is open to all students who want to write their prayer requests.
Brice Priestly, a member of the Student Association Student Life Committee, said the committee came up with the idea over the summer and decided to put the plan into action this semester.
“The Student Life Committee thought a prayer wall would be a great way to remind students to pray,” Priestly said. “A healthy prayer life can bring the students closer to God.”
Kellie DeAtley, who is also a member of the Student Life Committee, said the prayer wall is only one change that will be taking place this semester.
“We hope to have a prayer room, 24-hour prayer-a-thons, etcetera,” DeAtley said.
According to Priestly, picking a location for the prayer wall was an important decision the committee had to make. They wanted a spot students would walk past every day.
“Right outside the cafeteria seemed like a perfect location because the majority of students will walk past it each day as they leave the Caf or make their way to the Student Center in between classes,” Priestly said.
Students usually spend a lot of time outside the Caf waiting to get inside, so putting the prayer wall there is like a reminder for people to say a quick prayer for their peers or to write something that is on their hearts, DeAtley said.
When a prayer request is written on the wall, it is up to everybody to pray for that request, Priestly said.
“Whether you pray for the requests on the wall or not, hopefully you are reminded to pray and to develop your relationship with God,” Priestly said.
According to Priestly, the Student Life Committee is hoping to fill the wall up with prayer requests and replace it with a new one every semester.
“We will look into opportunities to shift the full prayer wall to another location where it can be viewed by everyone,” Priestly said. “The full prayer wall will serve as a record of prayer requests and will allow students to see how God answered the prayer requests they had in prior months.”
The Student Association has seen the spiritual growth on campus and has been encouraged by the response from the students regarding the prayer wall, DeAtley said.
“We are so excited to see how God is going to use us this semester through a great school like Harding, which presents us with endless opportunities not only to live in constant prayer, but to grow closer to him through lives of service,” De Atley said.
