by Jon Konnerup
The Great Commission was given to the church. That means every member of every church has a role to play in this task given by Jesus Himself. If we are in Christ, then we should personally lift up the banner of world missions.
Our churches should be churches of prayer, impacting the world as never before. The unreached of this world need to be told what Jesus has done for them, and prayer is a major aspect of making this happen. Very little of eternal value happens without somebody, somewhere praying. Often credit is given to more obvious outward ministries for what has actually been accomplished through prayer.
We may not all be called to go to the ends of the earth and preach, but every one of us has been called to pray. Prayer is not optional, it is operational. It makes things happen. The kind of prayer that will impact the world around us is extremely intense and persistent. As in everything that God requires of us, prayer must be done with all our hearts, all our souls, and with all our strength. Could this really be said of each one of us?
Although we should be praying every day for our efforts in global evangelization, we have an opportunity to make a lasting impact by making a concerted effort to join together in prayer during the week of March 25, 2012. Specific locations and items to pray for will be listed in the Tribune, on our webpage, bbfimissions.com, with a downloadable bulletin insert, and on Facebook. A second week of prayer will be scheduled later in the fall with additional specific requests.
Together we can approach the throne of God on behalf of those who we have sent to the frontlines of the strongholds of the devil. In all actuality, missions is a war — a war for the souls of men, women, and children. The devil’s plan is to deceive people around the world through false religions and to discourage, confuse, deter, and suppress our soldiers — the missionaries.
We must pray on behalf of the unreached and those who are unengaged with the gospel. They are searching for a way to have the burdens of their sins removed by trying all means of good works. They need to hear of the finished work of Jesus on the cross for the remission of their sins.
A Christian Chinese motto goes like this:
Much prayer, much power;
Little prayer, little power;
No prayer, no power.
God has given us prayer because Jesus has given us a mission!