• The most important but most mysterious power for good in the world is prayer.

Every time I drive to Fresno Pacific I pray. Prayer is a mysteriously powerful connecting point between God and his people. The life-changing work that God has entrusted to us at FPU is not POSSIBLE without prayer. That means I pray for you, because you are part of what God is doing here. Through the mysterious power of prayer, I ask God to move your heart to pray for someone or something at Fresno Pacific, including for me and Peggi. I pray for your prayer.

Whenever the Holy Spirit whispers my name to you, please just say a prayer for me. I really need it. I am very aware of how inadequate I am for this presidential assignment during these hard times. I am constantly behind, and I must find the right words to speak and write and I must make decisions without adequate information or time to research or ponder. Thousands of words and scores of decisions—every day. The expectations always exceed my capacity, and the endless weeks wear a person down and increase the chance for mistakes or misunderstandings that affect real people in very real ways.

It is an act of faith to stop and renew for a few moments or hours or a day, because the work piling up must still be done. And pray also for Peggi, because in addition to her open-ended assignment as presidential partner, she has a full-time job as director of continuing education with 10,000 students scattered across America. We know it is impossible, but it is how our part of the kingdom work is right now. Not enough money or people for the spiritual work that must be done. That is why we need you to pray.

And the same is true for everyone else at FPU. So whoever comes to your mind, pray for them. If our financial challenges come to mind, pray for God to move someone to send a gift that day. If you know a student or an employee or trustee, pray for them. If you love a particular athletic or music program, pray for it. You can be absolutely sure that they need your prayer. Thank God they are part of FPU, and ask God for whatever comes to your mind, no matter what that is. The Spirit knows what we need to pray about.

Talk with God about whatever comes to your mind at that moment. Thanks or request, it does not matter. Prayer brings God’s blessing, on you and on us. So just pray. The most important but most mysterious power for good in the world is prayer. Fresno Pacific University exists and prospers because people have prayed. We do not understand prayer, and the Bible does not try to explain the mystery of it. God just keeps repeating that we must pray and keeps reassuring us that he hears our prayers.

We do not pray to inform God; he already knows. We do not pray to convince him to do something good; he already and always wants what is best for us. But we know that when we pray, a mysterious power is unleashed. Prayer changes the person who prays, and prayer changes the world and advances the church and the work of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. God is always waiting to hear your prayer, ready and waiting to demonstrate the mysterious power of your prayer. Without prayer, everything we are trying to do is impossible. But with your prayers, all things are possible.

From everyone at Fresno Pacific, for everything we long to see God do there, thank you for praying for us. Your prayers are the mysterious and wondrous connecting points between you and us at FPU and the miracles God will do.