The national collegiate day of prayer is just about a month away. We’ll tell you how one school is getting ready for the event.
At the University of Virginia, student groups Operation Esther Circle and the student prayer collective are holding weekly prayer meetings in the 40 days leading up to the February 25th event.
Debra Yarde, Operation Esther Prayer Circle leader, told NBC 29 News that the 40 days of prayer and fasting serve as good preparation to the Collegiate Day of Prayer.
Yarde told the local TV station, “In colleges around the United States our future leaders are there, our future politicians are there. So, we want to make sure prayer is in the forefront of their life,”
The Luke 18 Project, a campus prayer movement organizing the 40 day prayer and fasting event, states on its website that the idea to hold the 40 day event comes from the biblical story of Jesus going into the wilderness for 40 days to fast and pray. The group asks readers, “what could happen if the college students of America gave themselves 40 days to fast and pray for another Jesus movement in our nation?”
2016 marks the 200th year that colleges across the nation have participated in the national Collegiate Day of Prayer, where students are encouraged to unite and pray for the fate of their nation.
To date, more than 100 colleges in the U.S. are set to participate in the Collegiate Day of Prayer.
The Collegiate Day of Prayer calls on the importance of instilling prayer and faith in younger generations for the sake of the country.