“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19)
Prayer has a great deal to do with missions. Prayer is the handmaid of missions. The success of all real missionary effort is dependent on prayer. The life and spirit of missions are the life and spirit of prayer. Both prayer and missions were born in the divine Mind. Prayer and missions are bosom companions. Prayer creates and makes missions successful, while missions leans heavily on prayer.
E. M. Bounds*
What an exciting challenge Christ presented to the apostles. However, it seemed like a daunting task. All the nations of the world? At least the world that they understood at that time. How was this supposed to work? Christ already had a plan in place so the apostles could successfully carry out the commission once they had received the infilling of the Holy Spirit.Remove Upload
The disciples would pray.
The churches would pray.
The commission would be fulfilled.
Today, indigenous partners in Global Assist are spread out in over 40 countries around the world, overseeing more than 10,000 house churches. So how do we effectively pray for such a vast empire of faith? Our partners meet together in a Global Assist prayer meeting at the end of each month where they present their prayer requests for their individual ministries. After observing these leaders’ prayers for over a year, I’ve listed five of their most common requests.
Strategy and vision for new outreach areas
“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously…” (James 1:5).
The teams spend a great deal of time and resources checking out new areas before they send a team in to begin establishing a work in a new village. Some villages are easier to work in than others. Teams encountered villages that presented such hostility that they had to pull out and reevaluate their approach to the people. A great deal of prayer for wisdom and knowledge is needed to successfully complete an initial contact and establish a foothold for faith.
Person of Peace
“So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, ‘Come, see a
man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?’” (John 4:28,29)
The Samaritan woman was the person of peace for an opening of the gospel into Samaria. In the disciple-making ministry, this person is critical for a team to gain entry into a new tribe or community. Frequently, our team leaders ask for our prayers to join with them for a person of peace to be located when preparing to enter a new area.
Leaders & Laborers
“Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:38)
The partners and team leaders around the world are fully aware of the billions of people who still have not heard the message of the gospel. The men see the people groups in their own areas that they still aren’t able to reach because of the lack of laborers. The best feature of the disciple-making movement has always been the quality of leadership among the ministry teams. Partners provide layer upon layer of leadership training. But they all know that at the end of the day, it isn’t enough. They need more laborers and more leaders.
Peace, safety, and health of workers
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
Our partners and teams work in areas where populations have been held in the grip of kingdoms of darkness for thousands of years. The enemy is not letting go of these populations easily. But these dark forces are no match for the Word of God which goes forth from these brave men and women. God’s word will not return to Him void.
These teams battle spiritual warfare of some type every day. Last month one of the church leaders was arrested in northern India. His house church went to prayer, and he was released the next day. A Christian worker in Iran was arrested two months ago and has not been heard from since. These workers deal with relentless heat, insects, sicknesses, and threats from thieves and people hostile to their preaching. Still, they go. Still, they need our prayers.
Dependence on God for resources
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed…”
(2 Corinthians 9:8)
An important key element in the disciple-making movement is for the newly established churches to become self-sustaining. This happens over a period of time with help and support of their leadership. Every foray into a new ministry area requires meticulous planning. It also requires a great deal of prayer for resources such as bible materials, transportation, and places for the team to stay. One team recently requested prayer for a safe place to baptize six new believers. Another team requested prayer for a safe place to be located for a new children’s ministry. These needs were supplied and many other requests through our prayers joining with their prayers.
In Psalm 2, the Father gave Jesus the nations as his inheritance. And all these souls would come to Him because the apostles would pray, the church would pray, and the commission would be fulfilled. “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25) Enter into the intercessions of Jesus for the Global Assist partners and their ministries around the world and for the people they serve.
*E. M. Bounds on Prayer, p.367
Peggy Ryan Hembree serves as Global Assist Prayer Leader. You can Join our Global Assist prayer team by following the link below!
Join the Prayer Team!
