Check out this great story of how God works in our movement when we pray!

Eric Dellaire is a distance ministry specialist with Cru, meaning he helps students launch and build movements on their own campuses. Recently he told how prayer caused a significant breakthrough on Hussen University in Bangor, Maine.
 
Eric has been coaching leaders at Hussen from Orlando since 2006. He explained that the ministry had gone well and that there was a promising senior, Tiffany, leading the ministry. Through various reasons, the ministry declined, so that by December, there was just Tiffany and a freshman, Noelle.
 
In January, Eric decided that they should put ministry efforts on hold. Rather, he and Tiffany would just pray for the campus. For 15-20 minutes every week they prayed. He said they prayed for breakthroughs and for “all stars” to get involved as freshmen next year.  
 
Then in April, there was a brief period of silence while they were praying. They both felt something in their spirits. “Did you feel that?” Tiffany asked. Eric felt it. They both knew that God had moved in that moment and He was going to do something.
 
Tiffany began to get excited. She wanted to try some things. But it really was too late in the semester and she was graduating.
 
In September, Eric asked Noel, now a sophomore, to conduct surveys. She was hesitant, but did it anyway. About 10 students signed up. Four turned out to be “all stars”. By December, 30 students were coming regularly.
 
Here is the rest of the story.

• Since then, 20-25 students have put together and attended their state-wide fall conference.
• Over 30 have attended Big Break.
• Six have gone on summer projects.
• Two have applied to staff.
• Noel, who had been hesitant at first became a willing leader her last two years.

At the risk of being obvious, let me summarize. Eric coaches from a distance. He never visited the campus to try to re-launch it. No other staff helped in the re-launch. All they did on their weekly phone call was pray. And God used a hesitant sophomore and four freshmen to spark a significant work of the Holy Spirit on their campus.
 
So, how do you view prayer?

• Where are you laboring and just need to see God breakthrough?
• In what communities on your current campuses do you need God to open doors and raise up leaders?
• Who carries the prayer banner in your movements?
• Could it be that you have exhausted other means and prayer is the only option left?
• Might God do something beyond our abilities?

On the day I wrote this, someone led a devotion. I was given Acts 18:9-11 to read. 
   "One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: 'Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.  So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.' "
I like knowing that God has many people in our cities (campuses).  Let's trust God to be a spiritual movement that prays and expects God to do big things!

In Luke 4:17-21, we find Jesus in Nazareth in the synagogue on the Sabbath reading from Isaiah:
 
17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
 
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
 
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
 
Jesus was an amazing messenger for God. His message from beginning to end was that He was the Messiah, fulfilling the mission that God the Father had given Him to do. Jesus was the Messiah who had the power of the Holy Spirit and would proclaim the good news. Also see Deut.18:18; Isa. 40:9; 41:27; 52:7.
 
What was that mission and who really was Christ? Listen to how pastor Tim Keller explains this in this two minute video.
 
As we continually understand who Jesus is and what He has done in our lives, we should be about Proclaiming Him Everywhere – our school situation, living and work environment and wherever we go. Only Jesus can truly change lives. People are looking for ways to fill their lives, they just don’t know that it is Jesus that can truly fill and satisfy them from within.