WAYS TO PRAY
When considering ways to be involved in the Great Commission, prayer would rarely be the first thing on the list unfortunately. When prayer is mentioned as a mission’s strategy there is a good chance, we just threw it on there because we knew it was the correct “Bible” answer. In our go-go-go, results-based culture, prayer can feel like a waste of time. Why pray when you can be out there sharing the gospel? Why pray when there are people to be discipled, or churches to plant? Why pray when there are seemingly much more “effective” actions to give our time to?
The answer to these questions is simple. Jesus commands us to pray: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest” (Luke 10:2).
When we think we know what strategy or to-do list will reach the most people but forget to pray, we miss the heart of God. When we pray, we show God that we trust He is in control of the Great Commission. He does not want us to work hard on what we think will work; He wants to lead us in what He knows will work and that starts by submitting ourselves in prayer.
For so much of history the “harvest field” Jesus mentions in Luke 10 was ambiguous. Two thousand years ago, Christians could pray for laborers to be sent into the harvest, but they had no idea how massive the “harvest field” truly was. In our modern world, we have access to information on over 17,000 people groups in over 200 countries and there are so many ways to pray for these people and their needs. We can pray specifically for the unreached people of the harvest where there is a good chance, they will never hear the gospel. We can pray for workers to be sent to the least reach people and places around the globe and much more. When we seek the heart of God in prayer and ask for Him to move around the world, we will become an unstoppable force for the Kingdom.
1) Download the “Unreached of the Day” App. The Joshua Project is a research organization that focuses on reaching the unreached. They have spent decades researching every unreached people group in the world. The app is one of the easiest ways to expand your vision and passion for unreached peoples. Every day, the “Unreached of the Day” app presents a photo, map, basic statistics, and prayer items for a different unreached people group. At the bottom of the app, it lets you know how many are currently praying with you.
Jeremy downloaded the "Unreached of the Day” app and every week at his Bible study, someone in his group reads the people group profile and they pray for the unreached people group. What an unbelievable tool we have in our pocket with excellent content and prayer points to pray every single day! Click here to download the app.
2) Stay Informed with Global News. What happens when you take a look at the news through the lens of the Great Commission? Prayer happens. However, it’s hard to pray for the world if you don’t know what is going on in the world. Watch the news and pray for the global events God might be using to advance His gospel. “Pray the News” by Missions Network News (MNN) is an incredible resource for staying up to date on global current events. MNN exists to inform multitudes about stories that matter and empower people to take action that changes lives. Each news article gives context of the current event, a profile of the country of origin, and prayer points to help guide you in prayer for the country or event. Subscribe by going to MNNOnline.org to get the latest news via email. MNN also offers a brief daily podcast you can listen to get a snapshot of the latest global affairs.
3) Pray According to Scripture. During his ministry on earth, Jesus gave his followers specific things to pray. Luke 10:2 says, “And he [Jesus] said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” Is the harvest plentiful? Yes, it grows by 70,000 a day or 26 million a year. Are the workers few? Yes, there is one missionary for every 250,000 in the unreached. Only 3% of missionaries go to the unreached. Indeed, the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few. What does Jesus say in light of this huge need? His answer is simple. Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers. When you pray Luke 10:2 you are praying according to scripture and God will respond.
When you pray according to scripture you are asking God to send out people in your community group, Bible study and church to reach the world. Pray them out by name. Pray for people to go to specific people groups. Pray for your church to send more missionaries than they thought possible.
Nick began to pray the Lord would send out workers into the unreached. After several months of praying, he realized he was the answer to his own prayer! What verses have you read that you could pray as powerful prayers for the unreached? Pray those!
4) Tune into World Wednesday. Every Wednesday, The Traveling Team hosts World Prayer Wednesday on our Instagram using the “Unreached of the Day” app. Each week we start an Instagram live event at 10:40am CST and pray for the unreached people group of the day. People can ask to join the Instagram Live and pray alongside The Traveling Team staff. One Wednesday, a girl from Brazil tuned in to pray, and she prayed for a people group in Portuguese. It was such a beautiful picture of the global body of Christ -- worshippers from every tribe, tongue and nation! Click here to check out The Traveling Team instagram!
5) Commit to Being a Prayer Partner. When people are sent overseas through a mission agency, most often they are required to raise financial partners. When someone is sent overseas by Christar, a mission organization working amongst the unreached, they are not only required to build a financial team, but also a prayer team. Each missionary must raise 100 prayer partners who will commit to praying for them every day. This is no small task. If you don’t know any missionaries, reach out to Christar.org and get connected to one of their missionaries who is looking for faithful prayer partners. Goers can’t go if senders don’t send. Sending through prayer is an essential role in reaching the world. Click here to partner with Christar in prayer.
6) Set an alarm for 10:40 or 10:02. Ellie, a student from Missouri State University, realized that despite her desire to pray faithfully for unreached people, days would go by without even a thought of people without access to the gospel. In light of that, she decided to set an alarm on her phone to go off every day at 10:40 to remind her of the lost and remind her to prayer on their behalf. If the alarm sounded while she was out with friends, Lizzie also had the opportunity to share about the 10/40 window and why she set the alarm in the first place. The alarm served as a reminder to pray and a great conversation starter about God’s heart for the world. Another option is to set an alarm for 10:02 in alignment with Luke 10:2 and Jesus’ instruction to pray for workers to go into the harvest.
7) Buy Operation World. Operation World has been one of the greatest tools for prayer mobilization for the world since it was first published in 1974. This longstanding and trusted resource cuts through the fog to provide an up-to-date snap-shot of what God is doing among the nations in the world. Operation World will become one of your most valuable books for understanding the nations and how to pray for them. Joe bought Operation World and began to pray through all the unreached countries. He got hung up on Afghanistan and began to pray daily for the country and as he did, God created a burden in his heart for the people there. Joe would later move to Afghanistan as a missionary and serve there for fourteen years! The decision to move across the world to the unreached started with the choice to pray faithfully through Operation World.
8) Join the Bibleless Peoples Prayer Project with Wycliffe. Wycliffe is an organization that focuses on Bible translation. They desire to equip and train believers all over the world to translate the Bible for people groups without a Bible in their native language. Over the years, Wycliffe has seen God answer prayers as people pray for specific translation projects to be complete and for unreached people to receive scripture in their “heart language”. A five-year-old boy named Sam prayed each Sunday for the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island. One day, Sam heard that Wycliffe had assigned missionaries to work among the Rapa Nui. His parents later discovered that the missionaries had become interested in Easter Island around the same time their son started praying. God is at work through the prayers of his people! Click here to join in the movement.
9) Take a Prayer Walk. Walk by the international dorms, local mosque, or temples and pray that God would reach the unreached in America who have never heard the gospel. Hana went on weekly prayer walks around her campus praying for international students and asking God for opportunities to befriend them. A few weeks into the semester, she met a student from the Middle East who had never heard the gospel. They quickly became friends and were able to have spiritual conversations. Hana attributes the authenticity of their relationship to God’s grace to answer her prayers as she walked her campus.
10) Buy a Map. Annie and Samantha, students at the University of Central Arkansas, were roommates and both wanted to grow their hearts for the world. As they decorated their college apartment, they decided to hang a huge map on one of the walls with the intent of praying over every country in the world. Each day the girls prayed for a different country and put a tack in it when they finished. Over their junior year, they prayed for every country in the world! Another small group put a map over a dart board and prayed for whatever country they hit with the dart each week. Be creative!
11) Prayer Points in Sight. “Out of sight out of mind” is a saying for a reason. It is easy to forget things that we do not intentionally put at the forefront of our minds. Consider putting a laminated Bible verse or prayer points on your mirror, on your fridge or in your car to remind yourself to pray. Alex used a dry erase marker to write a different Bible verse about God’s heart for the world on her bathroom mirror each week. Every morning it served as a way for her to memorize the scripture and pray as she got ready. Multitasking at its finest.
12) 31-Day Challenge. If praying for the world is new for you, that’s okay. A great place to start is utilizing prayer resources from organizations like “Every Home for Christ.” They offer free prayer maps through their website or you can download a digital version.
These maps guide you through a 31-day challenge that helps you pray for the transformation of the nations. By praying every day for a month, you will create the habit of praying for the world.
Each day you are given seven nations to pray for. The map provides you with the total population of the country, the name of the current leader, the percent of Evangelical Christians, and an organization working in that nation. For example, on day twenty-five you will pray for Botswana, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho, South Africa, Mongolia, and China. Mongolia has a population of 3.1 million people and only 1.7% of the country are followers of Jesus. The map prompts you to pray for “open hands, opens doors, open minds, and open hearts”.
Click here to download your free prayer map today!
13) Fast and Pray During Ramadan. Every year, Muslims participate in a tradition called Ramadan. Ramadan is a month in the Islamic calendar where Muslims from all over the world focus on fasting from sunrise to sunset. During this month, Muslims are spiritually aware and seek closeness with God. It is also a time when many Muslims strive to overcome their spiritual short comings from the other eleven months of the year. As Christians, we have a high value on prayer and fasting, so what would it look like for you to be intentional with prayer and fasting during the month of Ramadan as well? Your reasons will be very different than your Muslims friends, but this could be a great time for you to pray intentionally for your friends and for Muslims around the world.
A good resource we recommend to help you pray during Ramadan is called 30 Days of Prayer. It’s a great resource for Christians to pray for the Muslim world during Ramadan. Go to 30DaysPrayer.com to get your resources.
14) Use JoshuaProject.net. The Joshua Project website is the most complete database of people groups on the internet. They track progress on all unreached people groups around the world. While the “Unreached of the Day” app is a great tool for daily prayer, Joshua Project website has even more information and data for unreached peoples. They list specific needs and ways to pray for every unreached people group in the world.
The website also includes videos on prayers, resources and articles on how to pray as well as global statistics. They also have several PowerPoint presentations that you can listen to and encourage others to pray for the world. Don't miss this magnificent website that everyone desiring to pray for the world needs to be familiar with. Check out their website at Joshuaproject.net.
15) Pray for Pastors. Mobilizing just one person takes a lot of time and prayer. Imagine mobilizing an entire body of believers. We must be praying for our pastors and leaders frequently. Set aside time to pray for the body of Christ you belong to. Pray that your leaders would be faithful to preach mission-focused messages on a regular basis. Pray as they lead, God would grow their hearts for the nations. Pray for fruitful ministry as it pertains to God’s mission. An occasional mission's emphasis Sunday can be good, but congregations really pick up on what is emphasized habitually. If God’s heart for the world is not something your leadership has vision for, ask God for an opportunity to cast vision for His mission with grace.
16) Intercessory Prayer. If God answered all your prayers from the last two weeks, would your life look different or would the world look different? How are you stewarding your prayers? As believers, we have the privilege of praying to the God of the universe and interceding on behalf of the nations. Intercessory prayer is the act of intervening on the account of people who don’t even know they need prayer.
A man from the Middle East who was living in the U.S., started a ministry that gathered Middle Eastern believers to pray for Muslims around the world. This man overflowed with joy as he recognized his role of intercessory prayer. He prayed for miracles. He prayed that God would reveal Himself to Muslims in dreams. He prayed for Imams to see the truths of the gospel. This man had faith that God would do something radical with the prayers he prayed.
May we have similar faith. May we approach the throne of grace with boldness, believing that God will fulfill his promises and one day we will see people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation in heaven.
17) Pray in the Car. Jackson’s commute to his campus took him 30 minutes every morning. After he developed a heart for the world, he decided he would use part of his morning commute to pray for the world. Rather than immediately turning on music, he spent the first few minutes of his drive interceding on behalf of people with no access to the gospel. A year later, he began carpooling to campus with his friend Gunnar. Jackson was determined to continue his morning commute prayer time. He invited Gunnar to join in on his daily prayer for the world as well. Gunnar was happy to participate and grew a heart for the world as well through the experience.
18) Journal Your Prayers. The reality is our minds wander. People tend to feel shame regarding how distracted they get while praying, but rest assured, we have all been there. One way to avoid a wandering mind is to write out your prayers. This will help you stay focused and reflect on the things you talked to God about. There is something special about writing down your prayers. We have met people who keep a prayer log and are constantly writing new requests because they have seen God answer so many of their prayers.
Joe Carter wrote an article for The Gospel Coalition where he referenced there are 650 prayers listed in the Bible and approximately 450 recorded answers to prayer in the Bible. God hears us and he answers our prayers. Get in the habit of writing your prayers and see how God will show up. Check out the article at TheGospelCoalition.org.
19) Partner with your Church. Often, we underestimate the power of prayer. Sending missionaries overseas is not limited to financial sacrifice; the role of prayer is so vital to the health and “success” of ministry overseas. Being a sender isn’t “second class,” but rather the fuel missionaries need to do the work of God.
One way you can actively send is by reaching out to your church and requesting to receive the monthly ministry updates from overseas workers sent by your church or campus ministry. Read, pray for and respond to their updates. Let them know you are praying for them and ask for specific requests. Be sure to ask your pastor about proper security measures so you don’t risk the safety of the missionaries.
Katherine, a student from University of Southern Indiana, gathered a group of friends to pray for the world every Thursday night before their campus ministry meeting. They printed off the ministry updates for missionaries that they knew serving in the 10/40 window and prayed on their behalf. This simple act of prayer has the power to impact eternity.
20) Access the Voice of the Martyrs. It is easy to take for granted the freedom we have to worship, share the gospel, and gather together as the body of Christ, because not all believers around the world have those liberties. Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) is an organization that serves persecuted Christians around the world. VOM is dedicated to inspiring believers to deepen their commitment to Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission — no matter the cost. Consider downloading the VOM app. You can also request their free Global Prayer Guide, subscribe to the magazine, or even partner in prayer with a front-line worker. All of this can be accessed from their website at Persecution.com.
Jeff and Denise subscribed to the VOM magazine and were both encouraged as they read the testimonies of their Christian brothers and sisters who were persecuted for their faith. The magazine made their family keenly aware that religious freedom is not something to take lightly. They were led to pray for believers whose stories were highlighted in the magazine as well as for the persecuted church at large. Click here to sign up to receive the Voice of the Martyrs magazine.
21) Utilize Prayercast. Prayercast exists to activate victorious, world-changing prayer and worship through mass media and the arts to advance the gospel to the masses. Emily had been praying for Muslims for some time when a friend showed her Prayercast’s resources geared towards Muslims. She signed up to receive a weekly email including a video with guided prayer. Prayercast has guided prayer videos for every country in the world. There are over 130 videos for Muslims alone. Emily’s prayer life was fueled even further when she read that more Muslims have turned to follow Jesus in the past 15-years than in the previous 1400 years combined! Visit Prayercast.com
22) Host an International Food Night. Neha came from an Indian background and loved to cook meals that were traditional to her culture. During Bible study one week, Neha’s friend suggested they all cook a meal together the following week and pray for unreached people in India. The Indian cuisine night was such a hit the ladies made it a monthly ordeal. They chose an unreached part of the world and gave it their best go to cook a meal from that culture. They came to the meal prepared with fun facts about the country, a profile of the country’s engagement with the gospel and some general prayer points to pray over as they enjoyed dinner. It was something the ladies looked forward to each month to pray together while growing their heart for the world and enjoying a delicious meal.
23) Pray Without Ceasing. Scripture tells us to pray always (Ephesians 6:18), rejoice evermore, and to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). These are just a few references that point to having a heart of continual prayer. A practical way you can pray without ceasing is to host a 24-hour prayer event, either virtually or in-person, for the unreached. You can divide up hours for different people to pray or commit to an entire day of focused prayer! One way you can involve your friends or church is by setting up a physical prayer site.
Ethan participated in a 24-hour prayer gathering by signing up for a one-hour shift in a prayer room. His friends set up a prayer room on campus where people came for one hour shifts to pray for the nations. There was worship music and maps on the walls where you could pray over a country. There were also post it notes people could write prayers or requests on and display on the wall. A 24-hour prayer time, does not have to be complicated or elaborate, but simply a time to come together and intercede for the nations.
24) Check your Tag. Did you know that most of your clothes are made in countries outside of the United States? The top seven largest apparel exporting nations are China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Hong Kong, Turkey, and Indonesia. All these places are packed with unreached people groups. Before you get dressed in the morning, check your clothing tags to see where your clothes were manufactured and pray that the people living there would be able to hear the gospel and put their faith in Jesus. Spencer led a small group during his senior year with a focus on growing hearts for the world. Each week the group began their time together by playing “prayer tag.” The guys would check each other's shirt tags and spend some time together praying for the countries that made their shirts – most of which were unreached nations.
25) Pray like Jesus. As we read scripture, we see that Jesus was in constant communication with the Father. Not only did Jesus display the value of prayer as he slipped away from the crowds to spend intentional time with God (Luke 5:16), but he also modeled how we should pray.
In Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus says, “Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
If you don’t know how to pray, use Matthew 6 as a guide. There are six petitions in this passage that can help us pray: Pray for God to be glorified (hallowed); pray for God’s kingdom to come on earth; pray that God would meet your daily needs; pray that God would forgive your sins; pray that he would teach you to forgive others, and pray that God would deliver you from sin and temptation. Our prayer lives should focus on who God is, how he wants us to walk with Him, and what it looks like for God to be made known in the world.
PRAYER IS POWERFUL
As you consider these ideas to expand your prayer for the nations, keep this question in mind:
If all your prayers from the last month were answered, what would look different? Your life or the world?
One day we will be standing before the throne with people from every tribe, tongue and nation worshiping Jesus (Revelation 7:9). Nothing can change this! Jesus has paid for the sins of people from every people group on earth and one day they will stand and worship Him for all eternity. But that reality is some time in the future and right now we get to play a part in getting those people to Christ. Imagine one day in eternity, someone comes up to you and says, “You have no idea who I am. We have never met. But you prayed that God would send a missionary to my people group and He did! And now I am worshiping Jesus with you for all of eternity. Thank you for praying!”
The most effective and impactful thing we can do to reach the nations can be done right now in our homes. Don’t sit around waiting to do something. Start praying for the harvest right now and impact eternity!
