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Uniting Through Prayer

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Every first Thursday of May, a nationwide phenomenon takes place — prayer sweeps across  the nation and voices join together in unison, as people of all different ethnicities, backgrounds and faiths gather together to lift America up in prayer. Intended for people of all faiths, this day was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress and was signed into law by President Harry S. Truman.

In observance of the annual National Day of Prayer, last Thursday, May 2, Christian students at UCI gathered together to pray for the campus and the nation. Hosted by the “Jericho House of Prayer,” the event united various different Christian groups on campus.

The event included a full day of prayer on campus, from 7 a.m.  to 7 p.m. They began the day by gathering early in the morning at the flagpoles, followed by a prayer walk around campus and finally they moved into a room in the Student Center to continue praying for the campus and worshiping God in song.

During this time, importance was placed on praying for classmates, people in need and those who didn’t know Christ. Andrew Hyun, a member of the Korean Campus Crusade for Christ, urged people gathered by the flagpoles to be “filled with Christ’s love, and to have compassion for our nation.”

Pastor Jim McKinney, the leader of Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, shared his conviction toward the power and the significance of prayer. When asked what prayer means to him and why he prays McKinney said that prayer “unlocks the door between heaven and earth, and allows heaven to come down and change what’s happening on earth.”

McKinney went on to testify to the transforming power of prayer in his own life. He spoke of his daughter becoming miraculously healed of her life-threatening birth defect the moment when he, his wife and his pastor prayed for her. He believes that prayer can not only transform things in our own personal lives, but that it has the power to transform nations.