Last week, Andrews University hosted its annual Fall Week of Prayer. It was a well-attended event; the promise of an experience with God and co-curricular credit drew students and faculty alike from buildings across campus to hear the speaker present a message from God’s word.
This year, former university chaplain June Price returned to campus to be the speaker. June Price used her experience gained from working as a chaplain and counselor to answer four fundamental questions involved in defining your purpose for life. The theme was “Divine Direction.”
To summarize, Monday’s question was, “Who was I created to be?” Price pointed out that God has given each one of us the task of a king, to work with God and with the potential of what this Earth can be. This led to Tuesday’s topic, “Why am I here?” June Price presented a rare insight into this topic. According to June Price, the main mission of humans is to know God, believe God, and trust God. In short, the main goal is to have faith. Following this, Wednesday’s message addressed the question, “What legacy will I leave here?” Price declared that God “desires your fingerprints all over His creation.” In other words, we are to see the image of God in all those we come in contact with and treat them as children of God.
Thursday looked a little different for this year’s Week of Prayer. All Andrews University students and faculty were invited to “put feet to [their] faith” and act out the principles learned during the week by serving others in Change Day activities. Students and staff volunteered at various locations in and around Andrews University. Finally, the week culminated in one final presentation for vespers on Friday night, with the topic being “What legacy will I leave here?” To overcome our dysfunction as human beings and leave the legacy we were created for, we need Jesus’ DNA to change our beliefs and our behavior.
This school year’s Fall Week of Prayer provided a valuable message for college students about letting God define and direct their lives. While many students did not agree with everything June Price said, most students were able to find some valuable advice to apply to their own life. In addition, many students seem to like the idea of having a week with extra spiritual emphasis. Madison Vath (freshman, English), when asked if she thinks Week of Prayer is important, responded by saying, “I do. I think it’s an opportunity to really hone in on setting that foundation in Christ for the rest of the school year.” Also, the combination of Change Day with Week of Prayer seems to have been well accepted, with students sharing positive opinions on the new scheduling. For example, Angela Coppock (sophomore, aviation) said, “Personally, I thought combining change day with Week of Prayer was an excellent idea. Week of Prayer provided a build up of excitement and purpose for Change Day. Yes, we were helping our community, but Week of Prayer added a sense of depth. Also, Change Day allowed for the students to live out all the new concepts they were learning about during Week of Prayer. Combining Change Day with Week of Prayer was a marvelous decision, which I hope CFE continues in the future.”
Although making the time to attend Week of Prayer may be difficult to do, the spiritual nourishment is well worth it when setting the tone for the rest of the semester. In light of the positive feedback from peers, and my own experience attending Week of Prayer, I encourage you to work on your own spiritual life and continue to reflect on the messages presented during Week of Prayer to let God guide the direction of your life.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.