5 Steps to Pray for the Unreached

Sep 19, 2015

Of all the things Jesus did while on earth, is it not interesting that the one thing his disciples specifically ask Jesus to teach them to do is pray?

Not how to turn water into wine.
Not how to heal the sick.
Not how to multiply fish and bread.
Not how to raise the dead.
"Lord, teach us to pray."

They understood that the power Jesus had to do all of those miracles came from His connection to the Father through prayer. And the crazy thing is that because of the work of Christ on the cross we now have that same ability to come to the Father and ask of Him anything according to His will (1 John 5:14).

In Revelation 7:9-10 we see the culmination of God's story in these words:

"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages , standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

This theme is throughout the Bible: God's heart is for the nations. God's will is for every nation, all tribes, all peoples, and all languages worshiping him. Therefore, we know that when we pray to that end specifically, God hears us.

Here are five ways we can approach the throne of God with confidence.

1. Pray for more workers.

In Luke 10:2 Jesus told his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." That statement is still very true today! There are still 6,500+ unreached people groups that total almost 3 billion people that have little to no access to the Gospel. How do we go about fixing that? Jesus followed up that statement with his prescription. "Ask the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." The first step for reaching the unreached is to pray to the Lord of the harvest.

2. Pray that the workers would have a bold witness through a verbal proclamation of the Gospel.

"Consequently, faith comes from  hearing the message, and the message is  heard through the word of Christ." Romans 10:17 (Emphasis added)

"...so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11

"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel." Ephesians 6:19

3. Pray that the workers bring a visual demonstration of the Gospel.

 

Jesus would tell people that the Kingdom of God was near, but He would also show them that the Kingdom of God was near. This could look like a miracle or it could be something as simple as a true act of service or compassion. Paul several times expressed the idea of not only sharing the gospel by word but also by sharing his own life (1 Thessalonians 1:5; 2:8). The gospel message is a message of worshiping God in both Truth and Spirit (John 4:24)



4. Pray for the protection and perseverance of new believers.

In a majority of the unreached areas of the world new believers will face persecution as a result of them following Jesus. We can certainly pray against the persecution but maybe instead we should be praying for perseverance through it.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:10

"The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they have been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." Acts 5:41

"...we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3-4

5. Pray for multiplication.

"And these things you have heard me say in the presence of many witness entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." 2 Timothy 2:2

In this verse we see Paul talk about four generations of believers: Paul --> Timothy --> Reliable Men --> Others. Let us pray to see multiplication to the fourth generation and beyond in these unreached people groups!

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