By Joyce Porcadilla-Smith, President of General Baptist Bible College in the Philippines (GBBC)
As a family in GBBC, we praise and thank God for the wonderful opportunity to be able to take part in the General Baptist Ministries 40 days of Prayer emphasis.
We encouraged all the Faculty & Staff and College students to participate and amazingly they all committed to pray for 1 hour on the scheduled date, March 21, 2022. They all signed up to join the prayer activity. Each one was given a copy of the General Prayer items and we also added some specific items to the prayer list.
Since we still don’t have face-to-face classes, each one just prayed where he or she was.
Below are some of the testimonies of the Faculty & Staff and students about their experience of the said event.
Faculty & Staff
“Being able to pray the prayer items I rarely/have never prayed before, being part of an entire community/body of Christ who are praying the same prayer is such an encouragement and a wonderful experience. Intentionally, setting aside an hour to pray brought spiritual joy. That experience allowed me to reflect that I had to extend my prayer and widen my list for prayer. “ – Jonaessete Lopez–Singson
“It was a memorable experience. I am not used to waking up as early as 3:45 am to do a morning prayer but with that, I was reminded of my commitment so I got up and pray for the things listed and I felt peace talking to God with my personal concerns as well. It seemed like I was able to unload a burden in my heart. The list seemed so overwhelming but I was reminded how great our God is who could move mountains and turn the impossible into possible. I was reminded that with all the things that are happening around us, we need HIM for He is a sovereign God. I was able to reflect that I have so much to work on in my spiritual life. Thank you for the privilege. God Bless! “ – Hezyl Pili
“It was a nice experience to pray not just for my personal concerns but more for the needs or concerns of others. Through this activity, God reminded me to be grateful to Him for having a beautiful family, a job, and a ministry. I realized how blessed I am to enjoy everything I have in spite of the pandemic, scarcity, and chaos. It was a great blessing to pray for others and declare blessings and peace to them.” –Livi Cano
“It was my first time to join in a 24-hour prayer vigil. The feeling of being united in prayer with the common faith in the Grace of God is a surreal feeling. Other than praying for my personal concerns it’s fulfilling to pray for people, things, or situations that I’m not aware of or experiencing but have an impact around the world. It was amazing to experience how God works in each of our lives through the prayer vigil. I’m thankful for this experience. It reminded me that God is God. His Grace is beyond what we could fathom and understand. Yet, He gives it to us unconditionally.” – Kressa Mae Payot
“It adds relevance and purpose to my daily routine in communicating with the Lord. My
prayer concerns also widened in terms of coverage and what and who to pray for. It meant that there’s a lot to pray for and a specific time should be committed (maintained) in order to intercede for our brethren in Christ.” – Manuelito Abogadie
College students
“The time I spent with God through this activity was unusual. I felt the touch of God with His mighty presence embracing me while praying for the concerns and needs, particularly of the General Baptist Ministries. In my spirit I knew He spoke to me about His Lordship, Jesus as the head of the church, and that we are one in Him proclaiming and fulfilling the great commission. I am so blessed and looking forward to another activity like this. “– Liza Angelias
“My time with God was very good. There’s a lot of hope given by God to me. And because of that prayer vigil, I learned that it is good for us to have more time with God not just minutes but we need also to have a specific hour for God to talk to Him. I started at 3:30 am up until 4:30 am and the place where I did talk to God was in silence and it’s favorable for me to focus on talking to God. It happened that I caught myself praying for an hour and that was the longest time I prayed this year. Hoping that I will continue and strive to do it because I know God will move in prayers of His people.” – Anelyn Mayaki
“I felt His presence when I prayed. I missed spending more hours in prayer, especially when someone needs our prayers. It is an honor to pray for our Global Missions, National Missions, Church Revitalization, GB Ministries, to pray for Ukraine even in our country (Philippines), to extend prayers for our church leaders, pastors, workers, members, and my personal concerns. I value this opportunity to develop a strong, lifelong relationship with God. I desperately desire to connect with God every day, not just in tough times, but all the time.” – Renrose Picarra
“The prayer vigil gave me more strength to face challenges in life. I enjoyed talking to God and sharing with Him the list of concerns. It’s so good to feel that I was able to pray for the people I do not even know and have not met. I’m grateful for this activity.” – Irene Delos Reyes
“Spending time in prayer is always worthwhile, good, and necessary. As I sat in prayer this time, I was struck by how God works in the lives of His people all around the world. I read the names of those who dedicated their lives to the mission when I saw the prayer list. I learned that there are people who are still working hard for God’s kingdom, and they need prayer to be bolder, stronger, and steadfast in their faith in order to complete the mission that God has given them. I love the feeling of being part of this prayer vigil since it is what God teaches us as believers to do.” – Karen Sugoyan
It was indeed a successful Prayer activity in GBBC. Thank you General Baptist Ministries for having this amazing activity where the people of God in all walks of life get to unite and humble themselves before God and surrender everything to Him, acknowledging Him as our true and living God.
Based on the testimonies of the Faculty & staff and college students, they have enjoyed the opportunity and the time they spent with God in prayer. And with this, we want to include this kind of prayer activity in our school calendar. So, quarterly we will have a designated “GBBC Day of Prayer” schedule where we as a GBBC family can intercede and devote ourselves to the existing, specific, and urgent prayer items and concerns for our brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world.
To God be all the glory!