To belong to Jesus is to embrace the nations with Him. John Piper
When I was 17, I went to Haiti on my first short-term missions trip. It was the first time I had seen people – block after block of them – sleeping on sidewalks. Even then in the early ’70s the poverty in that blighted country was mind-blowing. We traveled for hours into the interior of the island on deeply rutted dirt roads. Missions stations existed in impossibly remote thatched hut villages with no sanitation and little fresh water.
At the same time the country’s fantastically corrupt dictator, “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who had succeeded his fantastically corrupt father, “Papa Doc”, was living large on billions provided by the U.S. government.
In the years since, my husband and I have seen faithful ministers of the Gospel working among those living in extreme poverty – and political repression – in many countries. And, yes, we support them financially. Giving will always be a vital part of any ministry effort.
But there is more. In this time of a global pandemic, our willingness to intercede in prayer is vital. Here is what I’ve learned:
- Prayer is powerful. Powerful.
- Each day as I pray for my family and my church and my city, I also choose one country.
- If I know pastors or missions workers by name, I pray for them by name.
- In that country I pray for all the pastors and lay leaders who are shepherding the flock of God in cities and towns and villages. I pray for the protecting hand of the Holy Spirit upon them, for health, for blessing and provision for their families.
- And I pray for the precious brothers and sisters in Christ throughout that country as I prayed for their leaders. God knows each of them by name.
- Prayer is powerful.
And one more thing: In this Easter season and throughout the year, listen to the news with a missions ear. When protests erupt in any country, I pray for the Christians. In repressed and dangerous places where a only statistically few remain, I pray for divine protection and that the true and living God would be glorified in hearts yearning to be free.
Prayer is a mighty and mystical thing. It is God’s chosen method of igniting His work in the world. On Good Friday we will be remembering that Christ died for everyone. Everyone. What a fantastic thing it is to contemplate that we can make a difference in the lives and work of people we may never meet here on earth by interceding for them in prayer.