In the Biola community, many students are taking advantage of the opportunity to engage in 24-hour nonstop prayer in the House of Prayer.

40 Days of Prayer, an event initiated by the SMU Prayer Department, began at 12:01 a.m. last Thursday, Oct. 4, in Alpha Chi.

The event creates a prayer chain between the 10 student communities on campus. Every day a different community dedicates a room called the House of Prayer for 24-hour prayer. The cycle of the House of Prayer will restart every 10 days, which allows each community to hold the House of Prayer four times. Members of the Biola community may sign up for 30-minute slots to pray.

So far, the prayer room has been active in all the communities except for commuters, and the Block and Bluff apartments.

“More people showed up than people who signed up,” said sophomore Fernando Salcedo, senator of Emerson Hall.

“They were devoted to [a] personal relationship with Christ and giving it God,” he said. “I posted a prayer request sheet, and people are still adding their prayer requests.”

However, in Alpha, people did not sign up for all the times.

“I felt the Holy Spirit move whether there were girls in the room or not. Though not all time slots were filled, I have faith students were engaged in continual prayer,” Sarah J. E. Palmer, a resident assistant in Alpha, said.

With schoolwork and other commitments, some students find it difficult to set aside time to visit the House of Prayer.

“With all my classes, it is hard to figure out a time to do it. I think it’s cool that they’re doing that, but I feel like I could pray anywhere. It doesn’t have to be in those specific places,” said junior Megan Jeanjaquet.

“I’d rather put a stickie note and remind myself of what to pray and do it alone than praying with a group of people,” sophomore Anna Ataide said.

Others haven’t had time to go pray yet, but are looking forward to it.

“My time isn’t my own,” said sophomore Megan Berka. “The Lord has blessed me to be here and to do schoolwork. It’s the least I can do … to stop and give Him 30 minutes.”

Some of those who went are witnessing effects of prayer.

“I am already seeing lives in my dorm being changed,” said Salcedo. “One guy, as he left the prayer room, came to my room and embraced me and thanked Biola just for having it.”

Faculty members are welcome to pray along with students.

“It is wonderful to be participating in a community of believers and lift things up to Him,” said Koreen Husted, professor of American Sign Language I. “The discipline is great. It tunes us to the power of prayer.”

Every 10 days, there is a different theme for students and faculty to pray for. The current theme until Oct. 13 is for “Personal Lives and Relationship with Christ.” The following themes will be for “The Biola Community,” “The Global Church” and “The Unsaved.”

“We want this to be a corporate turning to God,” said SMU Prayer Director Stephanie Goddu. “There’s something special about praying in a communal area, in a place where even if people aren’t praying with you, you know that people have been praying before you, and people will be praying after you.”

The 40 Days of Prayer will run until Nov. 15, with a break from Oct. 17-19 for the Torrey Conference.