Students learn to Abide with Christ in prayer

BELTON—Heads bowed, knees bent and eyes closed may be typical postures of prayer, but prayer comes in many forms, as several college students found out during the Abide conference at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

The create-your-own-prayer retreat included rooms with different themes, activities and ways to pray—through artistic expression, through silence and solitude and through solidarity with Christians around the globe, among other approaches.

Deborah Baker, a University of Mary Hardin-Baylor senior who participated in Abide, characterized the event as unlike any other retreat or conference she had attended.

“There’s no set schedule or places you have to be at certain times. It really is a prayer experience. The whole camp area is open to us all night, and you just go and do whatever the Lord calls,” she said. “The purpose of Abide is to spend time relaxing in Christ—his love, his glory, his presence.”

To help students expand the scope of their prayer life, rooms were set up to focus on the brokenness of others, people of other faiths and other people who are spiritually lost.

“It gives you a wider perspective on the world around us,” Baker said. “We sometimes get so caught up in our own bubbles that we forget the outside world.”

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor student Sarah Crawford sits in meditation during the BGCT-sponsored Abide conference. (PHOTO/Deborah Baker/UMHB)

The experience reminded Baker she is not alone. “I met people from around the state who are going through the same life—living for Christ, yearning for him,” she said. UMHB junior Sarah Crawford also considered sharing the weekend with others a highlight. “God led me to people who I knew of, and showed me how alike we are,” she said. “It’s beautiful to get to know someone’s heart for Christ and discover they are developing the same gifts you are.”

UMHB senior Julie Gibson noted said she came to Abide looking for restoration from a period of brokenness. The weekend cultivated healing, she said.

“I felt like God was everywhere. I was able to have some incredible conversations and see him in a whole new way,” Gibson said.

Baker added the opportunity to get away and have a prolonged period to focus on Christ alone made a difference.

“For me, prayer is so incredibly important, to listen to the Lord and not just talk. We all need to spend time listening to God, to get away from the noisy lives we lead. I love seeking out and learning new ways to pray. I think that is why I enjoy Abide so much,” she said.