Virtual Flagpoles

When the body of Christ is walking together in unity, God will do incredible things.  And, when we allow the enemy to drive a wedge between us, it can reduce the effectiveness of our prayers.  We can
remember the words of 1st Corinthians 1:
10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ."

Relentlessly and regularly, the enemy is trying to turn believers against one another.  There is a method to his madness - if he can keep us divided, the effectiveness of our witness and the efficacy of our prayers are diminished.  We can be sensitive to recognize when this is taking place so that we can resist him and draw near to God and to each other.  When we are unified, we send a strong message to the world about God's love and can experience God's power regarding the things about which we are praying together.

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There is promised power in unified prayer, and Jesus taught in Matthew chapter 18:
18 Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

Next year, the youth movement known as See You at the Pole will be celebrating its 30th anniversary of the observance, which grew out of a retreat in Burleson, Texas; the first "formal" event was held in September 1990, and about 45,000 students participated nationwide.  That's according to a Christianity Today article.  The event is held on the fourth Wednesday of September, and the most recent See You at the Pole event was held on Wednesday, September 25.

The event website says:

Since 1991, See You at the Pole™ has grown to God-sized proportions. Within the first few years, the movement began to spread to other nations through missionaries from the U.S. Now each year, an estimated 1 million students from all the world participate in See You at the Pole™. Students in more than 64 countries have participated. In places like Canada, Korea, Japan, Turkey, and the Ivory Coast, students are responding to God and taking seriously the challenge to pray.

And, while the school flagpole has become the physical symbol of united campus prayer, there is another symbol that has become associated with the event: the smartphone.  Christianity Today reports:

The organization has partnered with Claim Your Campus, creator of the Campus Prayer app, to help students organize regular prayer times and “keep the movement alive,” according to the SYATP website.

The app—which presents a tally of how many users are praying at any given time—added a dedicated SYATP portal for participants over the summer, ahead of the 2019 event.

Through the Campus Prayer app, students can schedule prayer groups and communicate the times and locations to other students. Plus, it guides students through prayer prompts for their schools based on a daily devotional passage.

The goal is to have 15 students participating at each school throughout the nation - that's 67,000 schools x 15, which is around one million. Consistent prayer is important, an idea underscored by Doug Clark, national field director of the National Network of Youth Ministries, who is quoted in the CT article; he said to Baptist Press. “See You at the Pole is a ‘moment,’...We hope adults and students will consider turning that moment into a movement by praying every day.”

Also, according to Christianity Today, this sort of technology adopted by See You at the Pole is being implemented by college organizations:

Last December, InterVarsity Fellowship and Cru launched EveryCampus, a mobile site and app where participants can log prayer walks at their colleges.

The goal of the site is to inspire college students to cover the nation’s nearly 5,000 colleges and universities with prayer in 2019—particularly the 70 percent that do not have an active Christian ministry presence. Since its launch, over 60 campus ministries and churches have joined in.

Prayer is an essential part of our Christian walk, and we can be emboldened by unified prayer.  So, our first reminder today is to stay unified.  We can realize that we, in the body of Christ, need each other, and as we agree with each other in prayer, we can see God work in our individual lives, as well as our churches and communities.  Unified prayer was on display this past Saturday at the River Region Prayer Walk, which was not only the 8th annual occasion, but also the eighth of a series of monthly prayer walks taking place in neighborhoods across the region.  This month's walk was through the downtown area.

Unified prayer is important and the level of passion or intensity is also a key factor.  So, stay intensified.  As we see God respond to our prayers, it can create a deeper enthusiasm for praying. The act of prayer and knowing God is with us and His promises are true can continue to keep us motivated to seek Him earnestly.

And, as these campus ministries remind us, we can stay technified.  Technology, essentially, can be a blessing or a curse - technology can distract us from what God calls us to do, or it can reinforce us.  We can stay connected to people in a way that honors God or in a manner that will poorly imitate true connection.  But, we can seek to use technology as a means for God to fulfill His intent.