The impact of student-led prayer groups

At the beginning of last semester, several students took it upon themselves to intentionally pray throughout the school year. Since then, they have witnessed the Lord working in their lives and the lives of those around them.    

Freshmen Nate Popiel, TJ Huizar, and Alessandro Cartagena have experienced the power of prayer firsthand. Early last semester, Huizar and Popiel talked about several of Huizar’s non-Christian friends in Europe—a matter that was weighing heavily on Huizar.   

“At the end, I just suggested, ‘TJ, would you like me to pray for you about this?’” Popiel said. “We prayed about it together, and we just felt the Spirit of God tangibly come in there and comfort both of us.”   

Afterwards, both Popiel and Huziar decided to consistently pray together every night. Soon, Cartagena, one of their suitemates, joined them. “We’re carrying each other’s burdens, and it’s just so comforting to me ... in the back of my mind I know that whatever happens I will have God and I will have my brothers in Christ,” Cartagena said.  
For these students, the hardest thing about praying is fighting against distractions and remaining consistent even over breaks. “Schedule it, just like it’s a class ... If you say 9 P.M. every night, then you’ll make it. And it comes to a certain point when there’s nothing else you want to do at 9 P.M. than pray because you realize it’s the most important thing,” Huizar said. 

Huizar keeps a list of all the prayers and highlights the ones that their group sees answered. They have witnessed the Lord’s work firsthand. 

Unbeknownst to them at the time, their small prayer group was actually an answer to another prayer. Elsewhere on campus, for about a year, another prayer group was praying for a men’s prayer group to start. At first, this group consisted of three students: Joy Johnson, Susannah Ely, and Ella Novakovich. Now, three more students have joined. Miranda Bracken is one of them.  

“The main prayer is for campus and for the people on this campus to know God deeper and to understand what it means to have a personal relationship with Him,” Bracken said.   

Halfway through the semester, their group discovered that a few of the freshmen in Red Hill had started praying together. “The guys in Red Hill were like, ‘Wow, we didn’t even realize we were standing on y’all’s shoulders,’” Bracken said.  

Overall, both prayer groups have come out of the experience encouraged and eager to encourage others to pray. “One of my favorite things that’s happened to me about being here at PHC is this prayer group. I mean, talk about emotional support; it’s the best emotional support you can have,” Popiel said. 

This article was originally published in PHC's student-run publication, The Herald.

Patrick Henry College exists to glorify God by challenging the status quo in higher education, lifting high both faith and reason within a rigorous academic environment; thereby preserving for posterity the ideals behind the "noble experiment in ordered liberty" that is the foundation of America.