Word has come that Andrea Luxton, President of Andrews University, is setting aside Wednesday, January 18, as a Day of Prayer for all three campuses (university, academy and elementary school). And certainly, Pioneer as the campus congregation will join in this collective calling on God.

The times could hardly be more needy of such intercession. Education across this nation still reels from the pandemic’s direct hit on the schools of America, and this campus’s schools are no exception. The inflationary ravaging our economy now experiences only exacerbates the financial challenge every institution now faces—from public education to national health care to church entities alike. Add to this the social-cultural-political-moral divide and decay that fester beneath the American surface—there is much reason for our faith community to band together in seeking the mind and heart of God through corporate and personal prayer.

“‘Call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me’” (Psalm 50:15). Throughout sacred history, the faith community of God’s people has gathered in times of deep need to claim this divine promise. When Judah was faced with the impending threat of “a vast army” marching toward them, King Jehoshaphat proclaimed a nation-wide day of fasting and prayer, in which “all the [people] of Judah, with their [spouses] and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD” in an earnest appeal for deliverance (2 Chronicles 20:13).

In the midst of that prayer season, an obscure worshiper leaped to his feet and pronounced: “’Stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you—do not be afraid, do not be discouraged’” (v 17). And early the next morning sacred history chronicles the supernatural intervention God brought to this praying and desperate nation.

The Lord God of Israel is our God, too. And we can trust that He will not only hear the fervent prayers of our campuses, He will also intervene in ways that will bear His fingerprints.

So let us band together this coming Wednesday, January 18, for a day of prayer. Shall we fast as well? Judah did. The infant church of Acts did (see chapter 13). But fasting must be a personal decision, whether from food or from other normal activities. One reality is sure—God will honor our earnest offering to Him of our time and energy for praying next Wednesday. (Be watching here for further details regarding a campus prayer gathering in our sanctuary that evening.)

“‘Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’ The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (Psalm 46:10-11). And a mighty fortress is He indeed!