An essential part of a Christian's journey is communal prayer. As my friend Kyler described it, not praying is like buying a Disneyland pass, having no outside commitments, no problems getting there, no parking issues, and not going. I mean, it would take unfathomable stupidity to deny yourself that. Similarly, Christ has made a way for you to directly approach God with whatever you want. You can go to Him whenever you want.
Using Kyler's metaphor as reference and my personal take on it, now imagine that you can not only go to Disneyland whenever you want, but you can take others with you. We can, in prayer, bring other's requests before God as well. Obviously the metaphor breaks down embarrassingly quickly, but the idea that this incredible gift that we've been given can be used to bless others remains. The idea that God cares infinitely about what you bring to Him and what you bring to Him about others is incredible.
Challenge God with your prayers! Pray for big things! God is ready to show you what He can do. Also, practice sharing those big things with other people! Let them experience watching how God is powerful to answer big prayers. God's plan is to bring all the glory to Himself. One way you can align yourself to God's plan is by inviting others to see what God is doing in your life.
Being on interterm, I've had time to relax, recuperate, and miss Biola. I've come to realize that one thing that I so enjoyed and grew to depend upon was the atmosphere of communal prayer. I was constantly asked what I needed prayer for and was constantly in a position to pray for others. During interterm, I've found myself praying less and being prayed for less. It makes a sad difference. I'm excited to mindfully and intentionally come back to Biola, ready to pray. If you're not at Biola, never fear! There's this wonderful thing called Church—try it out!
At church, you're presented with a beautiful group of people, all of them desperately in need of prayer. Get plugged in, and build relationships. Biola students as well. Biola is no church substitute. However, if you are at Biola, you have a wonderful opportunity to pray and be prayed for with people you're learning, loving and living with. Keep a prayer journal, and write down other's prayer requests. Pray every night before bed. Prayer brings you closer together with other Christians, but most importantly, closer to God.
