Harvard University students from Christian Impact, a campus ministry associated with Campus Crusade for Christ, know the value of a good education and of a good prayer.
Leaders from Christian Impact have provided a service where students can send it prayer requests by e-mail or by a prayer submission form on the Harvard Christian Impact’s Web site.
Four members of the ministry, who all live in the same dorm room, run the start-up prayer service.
They have even given an option for students to call their rooms to request to come over to the their residence and receive an in-person prayer.
Starting last November, the group wanted to use their personal time to pray for other students but felt it would be most effective if they had specific prayers.
“The Bible says you should pray for everybody, so we thought as long as we’re praying for everybody, we may as well know what we should pray for, know what people’s concerns are, instead of just making a general prayer,” Miller says.
In addition to a link on the Christian Impact Web site, Campus Crusade for Christ has also linked to their prayer request page also.
Although when the group first launched the page they received about 23 e-mails, their efforts have inspired a trend from other Christian groups on campus whom have all added a prayer request page to their websites. They include a female blocking group in Winthrop, two Quincy groups and a group of first-years.
The Harvard juniors say they are pleased with how the service is developing and that the idea is being carried on by others in the Christian community as well.
It’s pretty obvious to Minga why they and other Christian organizations have sought prayer as the method to address to students’ problems.
“We pray because it works,” Minga says confidently.
Although the four hope many students will use their service, they do not intend for their prayers to substitute that of the people requesting the prayers.
Silvestri says that Christian Impact leaders’ prayers as just as powerful as any other students’ prayer. He says their prayer does not have any special religious power that other students don’t. The group still encourages other students to talk to God themselves.
Chi clarifies the purpose of their decision to pray for others.
“The reason we pray is not only because it works but because of love,” Chi says. “We love the people in our community, and we find that prayer is one of the most powerful ways of showing that.”
