Kristin, an InterVarsity student, attended Vermont’s area InterVarsity conference, Soul Awakening. She returned to campus with the conviction that students needed to pray for their campuses. Recently, InterVarsity students at the University of Vermont-Burlington hosted a night of prayer and invited students from many of the colleges and universities throughout the Vermont area to participate in the evening.
Thirty-five students from three different campuses attended the Start a Fire: Revival Begins with One prayer event. Around twenty students stayed all night, leaving at 7:00 the next morning for class. Large group worship, time to pray alone, in pairs, or groups; art, dance, and African drumming were some of the activities throughout the evening.
Small groups participated in two-hour prayer sessions, asking God to work in the lives of individuals on each campus in the area and praising God for his work in their lives. Throughout the evening, both live and recorded worship music was playing. During one segment of the night, students could nail slips of paper, with personal sins written on them, to a wooden cross as a symbol of confession to God.
Besides prayer, a table of art supplies was set up so participants could worship through drawing, painting, and creative art projects. Various groups of students prayed for friends and family as people posted requests on the prayer wall.
Around 2:00 a.m., two international students led African drum worship to energize the group. Local churches and alumni provided snacks and breakfast to keep participants going throughout the night.
Many students enjoyed having such a large uninterrupted amount of time to focus on God. One student, Ed, shared, “I’ve struggled all year with really caring about the people on my campus. But God opened my eyes and heart to the other students, and I saw them in a new way—as he does. I’m learning to pray for people and talk to them differently.”
Other students, who were newer Christians or struggling in their faith, were able to strengthen and renew their relationships with God as they spent time in His presence, interceding for their campuses and world. Some of the participants suggested holding a twenty-four-hour prayer event next time.
The all-night prayer showed students that they can meet with God through many different activities — song and dance, writing, drawing, painting, working with clay, writing their own prayers, and reading. Students left this event with a new understanding of how prayer can deepen their relationships with God. They learned that God meets them wherever they are, no matter what they are doing. They just have to invite Him.
