Prayer usually brings to mind the image of a bowed head, closed eyes and clasped hands, and can be easily dismissed as a passive religious act by an outsider. However, members of In The Light, Gunn’s Christian club, have chosen to redefine the preconceived notions of prayer by giving it literal direction. Every other Thursday after school, members of In The Light walk the Gunn campus and pray for the school as a whole as well as the individual needs. “We pray for really small things or even really big things,” junior club member Christine Juang said.

In The Light members pray on the behalf of Gunn and issues that affect them In The Light member senior Phillip Wu said. They pray for guidance, the courage to share their faith and the people in their community. “We see an ad and we pray for the guy in the ad; we want to give him strength,” freshman club member Kevin Zhang said.

The club members initially meet on the quad to pray as a group and then start their walks.“We get together [and] then split up into smaller groups so we can hear each other better,” Phillip Yu said, “When we see something, one of us will pray for it or something it reminds us of.” The students pray for anything ranging from current events to classes and students. After a full walk around the campus, the club members close in prayer on the quad and go on their separate ways.

The club members decided to prayer-walk after some attended a mission trip to East Palo Alto (EPA); they brought their experience back to Gunn and made it a regular weekly practice. “Prayer-walking is just another way for us to slow down and see things we might miss, and also lift these things up to God,” senior Club President Vera Yu said. Their walking in EPA led them to meet new people from different backgrounds. “A lot of us have seen through prayer-walking that doors have opened for us,” Yu said. They met a few people in EPA last year who eventually joined them after prayer.

Prayer is essential to the Christian life, in many instances in the Bible prayer is a powerful tool as well as a solace for believers. “It’s like having a conversation with God,” Juang said.

Prayer and personal serenity often go hand in hand for junior In The Light member Ruth Zhang. “Leaving the campus, there’s a sense of peace which I can’t really explain,” she said. “It’s not the ‘do good, feel good’ mentality that doesn’t last very long, but a deep, enduring calm, almost like a blessing.” Prayer also knits the club together. “When I prayer-walk with other people, I see them open up and I get to know them better,” Zhang said, “I feel we’re very honest with each other, because we’re willing to speak and pray about whatever is on our hearts. It’s comforting to know that there are people to whom I can entrust my thoughts.”

Prayer-walking allows In The Light to interact with Gunn “When we see something we pray about it: people struggling, anything,” freshman Brian Zhang said.