On Feb. 20, over 50 Indiana Wesleyan University students joined IWU Campus Intercessor Dr. Jim Lo for a prayer walk around the perimeter of the campus in response to the growing COVID-19 pandemic.
What started as a single prayer walk then grew into a university-wide prayer initiative led by Lo as he invited the University’s academic community to take part in a daily prayer initiative.
“I believe in the scripture where the Bible talks about, when we gather together, his presence being there in a mighty way,” Lo said. “I saw that when I was a missionary overseas. There was a time of drought, and we decided that we were going to have a gathering of Christians in the park. In the midst of praying, the clouds began to come in, and at night time, it began to rain.”
The initiative invites the community to spend a few minutes of prayer every day at noon for the world in the midst of various trials and happenings around the world and in the IWU community related to COVID-19.
Participants are encouraged to pray from their home, work location, or where ever we are at the appointed time of noon every day.
“We do not have to be in the same location to pray for it to be “united prayer”,” says Lo. “Praying at the same time unites us and our prayers.”
A reminder email is sent out by Lo every Monday to encourage and exhort the community to continue praying for the state of IWU’s, local communities’, and the Nation’s physical and spiritual health.
“As a reminder to the IWU community to be praying, I write devotionals that are sent out via email to over 1,000 IWU employees,” explained Lo. “At the end of each devotion is a reminder to pray at noon, and usually a list of prayer requests as well as answers to prayers are presented.”
Lo said it was important to remember that people do not have all of the answers, and God always has a plan.
“I think there comes a place in almost every Christian’s life that, when you’re praying, there are some times when God doesn’t answer the way that we want Him to answer that make sense,” Lo said. “Because of that, I have to come along and have to believe that God has a sovereign plan in place.”
The initiative started with a focus on just the needs of IWU, but as time as moved forward, has grown to include the local Marion community, the Nation, and the world.
“Many times, our role is just to get it started and let God take over,” Lo said. “The unrest we are experiencing in our country and other parts of the world has expanded what we pray for.”
Bob Burchell, Director of Chaplain Ministries at IWU-National & Global, has sent these reminders to National & Global students, asking them to join the praying community. Lo’s church in Chesterfield, Ind., IWU alumni, and several others have also joined in the daily prayer.
“Some students from John Brown University heard about our initiative and joined us in praying,” said Lo. “Missionaries in Nepal, China, Cambodia have also joined us as have churches which are part of the Crossroads District of The Wesleyan Church. I can picture churches in Africa, churches in Asia joining in with us, praying for this whole situation.”
Lo plays an integral part of Indiana Wesleyan University's spiritual life on campus in his role as Campus Intercessor. As a professor in the School of Theology and Ministry, Jim mentors and equips students to lead deeply rich lives serving as stewards in Christian ministry paths
“A big lesson I have had to learn in my walk with Almighty God is this: refusal is not an indication that God does not care and love me,” says Lo. “The opposite is true. It is because He does love me and cares for me that there will be times He will not grant what I request.”