HARRISBURG (BRN) – ”But now even more the report about him (Jesus) went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (Luke 5:15-16 ESV).
Sharing the gospel, leading Bible studies, preaching, event planning, serving and one-on-one discipleship — these activities are what most of us consider to be ministry. But what about prayer?
I often don’t think of prayer as being a ministry. But Jesus clearly does.
Matthew 9:37-38 and Matthew 28:18-20 are very similar. In Matthew 9:37, Jesus sees the great need of the people coming to Him, and makes a statement of fact: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few…” He then follows with a command (v.38), “…therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
Similarly in Matthew 28:18, Jesus sees the need of the entire world, and makes a statement of fact, “… all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…” He follows with a command (v.19a), “…go therefore and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…” Both follow this pattern of “__ is true, therefore __. ”
Making disciples of all nations and praying are intricately linked. In order to see disciples made and multiply, we cannot neglect prayer. Prayer needs to go before everything else. It is primary.
The results of prayer are hard to see. Sharing the gospel, taking mission trips, leading Bible studies for new believers — these actions all have a tangible, measurable impact. But with prayer, it is difficult to see how it really helps. Yet the Lord, in all of His sovereignty and omnipotence, has invited us to have a conversation with Him. He has even commanded us to do so! What an incredible privilege. What a responsibility!
I fully believe that the person who commits to praying for the nations is the person who will make the biggest impact towards the evangelization of the world. Although they will never understand that impact while on earth, they will be rewarded greatly in Heaven by seeing the countless people reached with the gospel by their fervent prayer. Through their prayer, they will also see believers raised up to be laborers in the harvest, and great joy in giving their lives towards the Great Commission.
Practically speaking, prayer needs to be accessible.
There are a number of great prayer resources, but my favorite is Joshuaproject.net. Joshua Project has detailed information about thousands and thousands of unreached people groups, and they make that information accessible and digestible through the Unreached People of the Day newsletter. You can sign up for the Unreached People of the Day and receive daily emails with quick, two minute reads about unreached people groups and how you can pray for them. Just a few minutes a day spent in prayer for the unreached and those going to them will have an impact that lasts for all eternity.
Two years ago, I went on a two-month mission trip to Southeast Asia. While I was there, my team and I became close with a teenager named Cole. Cole was fun, personable and a real joy to be around. However, when it came to us sharing the gospel with him, he wouldn’t listen at all.
Led by the Spirit, my teammate Sarah committed to fervently pray for Cole every day. For the next year she prayed for his heart to be softened, and for him to believe in Christ. A little over a year later, she went back to his country. The last weekend the team was there, while the rest of the team fervently prayed, Sarah and a teammate met with Cole, and saw him put his faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Recently, he told me his favorite verse is Ezekiel 36:26, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
I believe there are many like Cole around the world. People whose hearts will be softened if we commit to pray for them and don’t lose hope in the Lord using our prayers for His glory among the nations. Please commit to pray with me, for those in your spheres of influence, as well as for the people around the world who have yet to hear the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
“Missions Minded” is a new monthly column written by Jack Elliot, Missions Mobilizer for Nehemiah Teams. Each month, Jack will explore a different topic or spiritual discipline and relate it to the field of missions – a field close to his heart! For any questions or more information about how you and your church can get involved in impacting the nations, please feel free to contact Jack at jctn@protonmail.com.
