{"id":55124,"date":"2026-09-24T18:51:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T17:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/?post_type=conexion&p=55124"},"modified":"2026-09-24T21:31:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T20:31:52","slug":"mobilising-prayer-everywhere","status":"publish","type":"conexion","link":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/mobilising-prayer-everywhere\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobilising Prayer Everywhere"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It starts in the Pacific Ocean and gathers momentum as it sweeps across scores of nations until it reaches past the Americas. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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This is no monster cyclone, no natural phenomenon. This is a supernatural event. It\u2019s a wave of prayer that travels over and through the world\u2019s campuses each year<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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This is IFES World Student Day<\/a>. <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Each year, more than 25,000 students, staff, and supporters from across our global fellowship unite in 48 hours of prayer for student witness.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Join in this year\u2019s event on 8 October by<\/strong> signing up to pray<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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INFORMED INTERCESSION<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The idea of praying for student witness across the whole world might seem daunting or vague. That\u2019s why various World Student Day resources<\/a> <\/strong>are available to help inspire and guide.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The mainstay of these are decks of Prayer Cards<\/a>. They present specific, local requests that have been shared by students and staff from every region.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Among the 185 received last year, Anna in New Zealand asked us to pray for wisdom and inspiration as they explored new initiatives to stay connected with students on placements.  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Eliab in the Democratic Republic of Congo sought prayer for his group \u2013 that God would enable them to truly live out the gospel amid rampant corruption.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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And Isaac in Ecuador requested we pray for groups in the universities of Quito to be strengthened so that students can encounter Jesus through them.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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See<\/strong> this year\u2019s Prayer Cards<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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On World Student Day, a selection of this year’s Prayer Cards will be available as a pop-up feature<\/strong> on the IFES home page<\/a> and as an audio version<\/strong> in the run up (subscribe to Voices of IFES<\/a> to access this as soon as it drops). <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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GUIDED PRAYER<\/strong> <\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Something else that informs and shapes World Student Day prayer is the theme.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Each year, a Scripture-inspired word or phrase that speaks into what\u2019s going on in the world and across the Fellowship provides a focal point. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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On last year\u2019s fiftieth anniversary of IFES prayer days, \u201cImmeasurably More\u201d encouraged participants to give thanks for all that God has done through student ministry and look forward in faith for immeasurably more (Ephesians 3:20). <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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This year, amid the world\u2019s ongoing unrest and uncertainties, we will respond to Isaiah\u2019s call to \u201clift up our eyes\u201d:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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In a fractured and hostile world, we may feel overwhelmed and fearful. Our upward gaze on God can slip. So, this World Student Day, will you<\/em> \u201clift up your eyes\u201d<\/em><\/strong> and refresh your faith in the Maker and Redeemer of our world?   <\/em> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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We\u2019ll \u201clift up our eyes to the heavens\u201d to focus on a Sovereign Lord who gives strength to the weary and restores the downhearted (Isaiah 40). We\u2019ll \u201clift up our eyes and look around\u201d to notice how he is already at work among the nations (Isaiah 49, 60).\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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REFLECTIVE RESPONSE<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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One resource that unpacks each year\u2019s theme is the World Student Day Devotional Guide. It reflects on relevant Bible verses and considers how prayer for campus ministry can be shaped by them. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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This year, three reflections explore what it means to \u201clift up your eyes\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The first focuses on the call to lift up our eyes to the heavens<\/em> (Isaiah 40), to see a Creator who cares<\/strong>. The second examines how lifting up our eyes to look about us<\/em> (Isaiah 49 & 60) reveals a Redeemer who is already at work<\/strong> all around. The final meditation considers how those two truths are echoed in Psalm 121 and Genesis 22.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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We share for you here the first of this year\u2019s reflections: <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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DEVOTIONAL GUIDE<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Day 1: A Creator Who Cares<\/strong>\u202f <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\u201cTo whom will you compare me?<\/em>\u202f 
\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f Or who is my equal?\u201d says the Holy One.<\/em>\u202f 
Lift up\u202fyour eyes and look to the heavens<\/em><\/strong>:<\/em>\u202f 
\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f Who created all these?<\/em>\u202f 
He who brings out the starry host one by one<\/em>\u202f 
\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f and calls forth each of them by name.<\/em>\u202f 
Because of his great power and mighty strength,<\/em>\u202f 
\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f not one of them is missing.<\/em>\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Why do you complain, Jacob?<\/em>\u202f 
\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f Why do you say, Israel,<\/em>\u202f 
\u201cMy way is hidden from the Lord;<\/em>\u202f 
\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f my cause is disregarded by my God\u201d?<\/em>\u202f 
Do you not know?<\/em>\u202f 
\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f Have you not heard?<\/em>\u202f 
The LORD\u202fis the everlasting God,<\/em>\u202f 
\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f the Creator of the ends of the earth.<\/em>\u202f 
He will not grow tired or weary,<\/em>\u202f 
\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f and his understanding no one can fathom.<\/em>\u202f 
He gives strength to the weary<\/em>\u202f 
\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f and increases the power of the weak.<\/em>\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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ISAIAH 40:25-29\u202f\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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(If you have time today, read all of Isaiah 40)\u202f\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Reflection<\/strong>\u202f <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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In the life of faith, our deepest pain comes not from adversity itself but from the doubt of divine abandonment that can lurk alongside it.\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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In Isaiah 40, God\u2019s people are living in the awful reality of exile in Babylon. Lives lost. Nation humiliated. Place of worship destroyed. Homeland far away. How do they feel? Unseen and ignored \u2013 by God (v.29).\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Let\u2019s\u202fbe honest:\u202fat times, we can feel let down by the One we trust and worship.\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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And\u202fit\u2019s\u202freal.\u202fIt\u2019s\u202fnot\u202fjust\u202fa spiritual sulk.\u202fIt\u2019s\u202fa genuine complaint, like we see in the psalms of lament (e.g. Psalm 22).\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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So, what is God\u2019s Word to us in such times?\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Comfort<\/em>\u202f(Isaiah 40:1). In these verses, God may be gently challenging the people\u2019s view (\u201cTo whom will you compare me?\u201d…\u202f\u201cDo you not know, have you not heard?\u201d<\/em>), but this is no harsh rebuke.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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God wills\u202ftender words<\/em>\u202f(v.2). We are to hear\u202fgood news<\/em>\u202f(v.9). We are to\u202fsee<\/em>\u202fa powerful, protective shepherd God (vs.10-11) \u2013 the all-powerful, all-knowing, incomparable Creator of the universe (vs.12-24).\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Is it too abstract? No,\u202fwe\u2019re\u202fpointed to something beautifully physical: the stars (v.26).\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cLook up!\u201d,\u202fsays Isaiah. They\u202fdon\u2019t\u202fjust \u201cappear\u201d each night. Their Creator\u202fcalls forth each by name.\u202f<\/em>Each one is accounted for\u202fbecause of his great power and mighty strength.<\/em>\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The point here is not cold, cosmic theology.\u202fIt\u2019s\u202fwarmly pastoral \u2013\u202fit\u2019s\u202fmeant as a gaze-lifting encouragement. For, with the same power, this mighty Creator calls us forth,\u202feach by name,\u202fto shine:\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Do you not know? Have you not heard?… He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.\u202f<\/em>(v.28-29)\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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When the eyes of our hearts turn downwards in disappointment, even the strongest among us can\u202fstumble\u202f<\/em>(v.30). But we have a God who can\u202frenew our strength\u202f<\/em>(v.31). Will we look up to him? Will we\u202flift up\u202four eyes?\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Today,\u202flet\u2019s\u202ffix our focus on all that testifies to a mighty Creator who powerfully cares for us.\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Pray<\/strong>\u202f <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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