Liberty University hosted Collegiate Day of Prayer for the first time in the Vines Center at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26. The 200-year-old event was broadcast live to over 250 million people across the world and over 8,000 college campuses, which were enveloped in prayer.
Attendees at the open-door event were led in worship by the Liberty Worship Collective and the LU Praise team. Both groups shared the stage in praise and facilitated prayer as participants joined the room both in person and virtually throughout the night.
Collegiate Day of Prayer Executive Director Thai Lam hosted the event and shared his mission to unite believers in prayer across the globe in hopes of kickstarting revival and a spiritual awakening among college students.
“Over the past 12 months, we’ve been dreaming and planning and collaborating with the leadership of Liberty University in preparation for tonight,” Lam said. “And tonight is the fruit of 12 months of prayer, unity, friendship and partnership.”
Students heard from Chancellor Jonathan Falwell and President Dondi Costin, who gave context to the journey that took place for the Collegiate Day of Prayer to reach Liberty’s campus.
Falwell said he was honored to host the event at Liberty, recalling that the school started because of the prayers of his father, Jerry Falwell Sr.
Several other influential Christian voices took the stage to encourage students, including the host of the “Becoming Something” podcast and Lead Pastor of Harris Creek Baptist Church Jonathan Pokluda, social media evangelist Bryce Crawford and author and apologist Cliffe Knechtle.
Crawford related to students through shared experiences with sin.
“If we’re being honest with ourselves, the things that we’re doing behind closed doors, that we leave in the dark … the things that we do when no one’s around — they crush us,” Crawford said. “But for some reason, we just keep going back to the sin and the suffering because it’s there.”
He invited students to join him in prayer to remove shame and gain freedom from sin that they’ve been living in.
Knechtle reassured students, reminding them that their fight against sin is not entirely dependent upon their strength alone.
“You see folks, it’s not by power or by might, not by my strength or your strength but by God’s Holy Spirit that human beings … can come to know the love of God,” Knechtle said. “It’s his job. It’s his show.”
In preparation for the Collegiate Day of Prayer, the university hosted its 24-hour prayer event in the Worley Prayer Chapel. This prayer opportunity is hosted several times a semester to renew the hearts of students with prayer. To coincide with Thursday’s event, the university welcomed local churches and members of the community to join the large gathering in the Vines Center.
Resident Shepherd Will Starling frequently attends 24-hour prayer events on campus, believing that they greatly impact students’ faith.
“It is so encouraging to see so many other students who are passionate about their faith and their walk with the Lord and to be able to go and … sacrifice sleep and show God their broken spirit and offer a sacrifice in that way,” Starling said. Starling referenced Luke 8:17, saying what a blessing it has been living a life without walls or a ceiling in his walk with Christ.
“Like scripture says, everything that is done in the dark will be brought to light, and so it’s been encouraging to live that out and not just be hearers of the word, but doers of the word,” Starling said.
To watch the Collegiate Day of Prayer broadcast, visit watch.collegiatedayofprayer.org.
Riden is the campus news editor.