As the world struggles to carry the burdens of 2020, an organization located on campus seeks to bestow blessings on the Harding community through an activity known as Prayer Walk.
Harding University Healthy Eating Active Living (HU HEAL), a campus organization initiated last fall by Dr. Britney Finley, assistant professor of kinesiology and HU HEAL director, promotes health among its members and the community.
“We just want to teach students healthy ways to take care of their bodies,” Finley said. “But do it in a way that is Christ-centered and Christ-focused, so it’s not about body image, but it’s about taking care of our bodies so that we can do the work that God has prepared for us.”
Along with healthy living, HU HEAL decided to take on a new role of blessing campus with Prayer Walk, a prayer activity led by a prayer guide and prayer signs on campus.
“You go around campus and follow that prayer guide,” senior Britain Bossier, HU HEAL member, said. “Each spot where the signs are [placed] has a different thing to pray about: over campus, over COVID, over our country and the students and the professors, and also just over the community of Searcy. It’s all guided for you with scriptures and with specifics to pray about. It’s a really nice thing to do with friends and we can see the power of prayer.”
The idea of Prayer Walk on campus originated from Bossier.
“I was inspired by my sister,” Bossier said. “When she was in college, her student ministry — she went to Henderson State — had a prayer walk [at the] beginning of every semester. They’d walk around and pray over the semester that year. And so, I think back in March, we were on Zoom with my Bible study group. I was originally saying that my Bible study group should go on a prayer walk, but Britney said, ‘Well, let’s make it bigger. Let’s make the HEAL group and all of campus join in.’ So, she kind of inspired the idea of all of campus being part of it.”
Finley said the Prayer Walk does not occur at a certain time. She encourages everyone to participate with a group at their own convenience. The prayer guide is located on the HU HEAL Instagram page in the bio section. HU HEAL members such as sophomore Rebecca Hill hope that people will take advantage of the spiritual walk.
“The purpose of the Prayer Walk is just to saturate our campus in prayers,” Hill said. “Prayers of praise, thanksgiving, confession and intercession [are] reforming things that we focus on. This is such a crazy time right now and every semester is [a crazy time]. Students struggle every semester but especially this time because we don’t know what’s happening. Prayer is definitely one of the amazing tools that we have that God has given us to lift things up to him.”
