Seventh Annual 40 Days & 40 Nights of Prayer

40 days and 40 nights of prayer at Carolina University: Humility & Faithfulness as we Grow and Prosper
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Last year we asked God to move us ‘from scarcity to abundance,’ which is exactly what He did. Please read the exciting article telling the story of a year of answered prayer. Now we are seeing abundance on every front with enrollment growth, financial improvements, campus health, competitive athletics, and new academic degrees, to mention a few of the blessings. CU is attracting top talent for numerous faculty and staff positions and is becoming known for quality academic programs that could lead to well-paying careers in meaningful fields. We recently submitted an application for SACSCOC, which if approved, could propel the University in prestige and rankings while benefiting students and alumni in multiple ways. 

We have a lot to be proud of. And that could become a problem. There is nothing wrong with feeling proud of an accomplishment, but the danger comes when we think more highly of ourselves than we should. Rather than being thankful to God for His blessings, we could be tempted to think of our own greatness. That is dangerous for many reasons, including God’s disgust with arrogant people. The Bible says that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. 

God isn’t the only one with a bad taste for hubris. Most of us despise egotistical pride when we spot it in others, and some sadists amongst us enjoy watching those instant karma videos so we can laugh out loud when arrogant jerks are suddenly humiliated. We are reminded of Proverbs 16:18 that says, “pride comes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” In other words, humble yourself or be humiliated by God. But if we all were completely honest, we would have to admit that the ego epidemic has infected each of us to some extent. 

And the vaccine isn’t a sanctimonious attempt to act or appear humble. The cure is found in things like honesty, not taking oneself too seriously, choosing to be more thankful, identifying with Christ in His self-denial, and asking God to deliver us from the sin at the top of God’s list of things He hates most – pride. That is why we are asking the CU family to pray for humility over these forty days and forty nights. 

The other prayer is for faithfulness. This is not the time to relax and let our guard down. This is the time to roll up our sleeves and be more diligent, productive, and godly than ever before. We certainly need God’s help to accomplish these things.

Our goal is to have an uninterrupted prayer chain for Forty Days and Forty Nights from Wednesday, March 10 through Monday, April 19, with multiple people praying at all times. The task will not be easy. We ask each participant to choose one half-hour slot for targeted prayer every day for forty straight days. For example, if you choose the 7:00-7:30 AM time slot, that means that you will pray from 7:00-7:30 AM every day for forty days. If you live in a different time zone, are young and energetic, or just want an opportunity to practice your spiritual discipline, please consider filling the nighttime slots first. Make sure that your entry is in  Eastern Standard Time. For example, if you are in Zambia and plan to pray at 3:30 PM Central  Africa Time, you will choose a 9:30 AM time slot on the CU signup page.   

You are also welcome to fast at times and in ways that you prefer. Each participant is encouraged to pray for others and about anything they want.  We ask everyone to spend some of their daily designated time specifically praying that God would inspire us toward humility and faithfulness as we continue to grow and prosper. 

Unleash Faith, 

Charles W Petitt

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