EMQ » January–March 2023 » Volume 59 Issue 1

By Chris Ruge

Many of us know the statistics about the current state of gospel advancement.

• Over 8 billion people are alive on earth, today.
• Over 3.3 billion live among unreached peoples.^[i]
• Over 2.2 billion have never even heard the gospel.^[ii]

The truth is some of them are resistant. Some don’t want Christians there. Some actively work to hinder or even undo the spread of the gospel. Some are unreceptive. In some places, work has been going on for years with little or no fruit.

Those who are receptive, disenfranchised, or hopeless, often have no pathway to the solution in Christ. The problem is massive – and many across the missions community are communicating this. But the problem isn’t only massive – it’s also urgent!

Roughly, 140,000 people will enter eternity today without a saving relationship with Jesus.[iii] They will never be able to change their mind. They will all go to hell and experience suffering and torment beyond our ability to comprehend – for eternity.

And what makes this number so incredibly tragic is that it’s not just today. Another 140,000 will enter hell tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that … . If the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves, how can we be okay with this? It should grieve us to our core.

So we have to face this critical question: What do we do in response? If we’re not okay with the fact that Satan is populating hell to the tune of 140,000 people every single day, what will we do? What’s the one thing that if the Church got right would most impact that number?

Is it more funding? Or better research? More workers? Better training? Smarter people? What about better strategies? Mobilizing proximal peoples, perhaps? Or targeting mega-cities? Online outreach… business as missions… mobile technology? These are all good things. But are they the best thing?

I am convinced – and I believe on the authority of God’s Word – that there is nothing more powerful and more effective we can do to impact lost and unreached masses around the world for all eternity than to pray.

When God’s People Pray … He Moves, and They Change

God, in his sovereignty, chose to use fallen humans as catalysts for him to move his omnipotent hand. He has ordained that our requests can and do play an initiating role in the actions he takes. Prayer advances God’s plans. From Genesis to Revelation, we are continually taught and given examples of God ordaining prayer as a means by which we can and must participate in his plan.

In his providence, God chose to make prayer a powerful means by which we interact with him and effectively shape the course of history. This is not an overstatement – it booms through the pages of Scripture! God has not called us in prayer to watch history, but to shape history for the glory of his great name! When people pray, fire falls from heaven (1 Kings 18:36–18). The lame walk (Acts 2:42, 3:1–10). The hungry are fed (Exodus 16). The dead come to life (Acts 20:9–10).

God wills to work through willing intercessors. When we pray, we take our God-given place. We use our God-ordained privilege to participate with him in the accomplishment of his purposes on the planet. When we pray, God moves.

When we pray, we change. It’s impossible to draw near to the sovereign of the universe and remain unchanged. He changes our petitions, our priorities, our goals, our dreams, our hearts. He changes our very nature. As we spend time in intimacy with him, we change.

Prayer is Commanded

God wills for us to be a praying people. He wants us to pray. Of course, he doesn’t need us to – he could just do it all himself. With a simple word, God could save all of Afghanistan, turn Kim Jong Un into a great Christian evangelist, or turn the Fulani into a mighty missions force across West Africa. But he told us to pray.

Scripture provides many exhortations for us to pray. For instance, Jesus uses a parable in Luke 18 to demonstrate to the disciples the importance of why “they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1). Then in Paul’s epistles, we see him give numerous instructions to the churches in Asia minor about praying.

For example, Paul tells the Thessalonians to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17). He explains to the church in Philippi to present all of their requests to God in prayer and petition with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6). To the Ephesians, he talks about praying in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests, and reminds them to always pray for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18). The list could go on and on. What can we take away? We must pray.

Prayer is Transcendent

Revelation 5:8 (ESV) tells us that “the prayers of the saints” are being stored up in “golden bowls full of incense” in the heavenly places. Then later in chapter 8 verse 3, these prayers accumulate and are offered “on the golden altar before the throne.”

Every single prayer for the kingdom of God to come. Every prayer for the glory of God to be made known. Not one is lost in transmission or uttered in vain. Every single one fuels the fire of incense that one day – one day soon – will usher in the climax of all history in the consummation of God’s kingdom. We must never underestimate the role of desperate prayer in our lives, our families, our cities, our nations – in the mystery of divine providence among all the peoples of the earth.

Prayer is Our Battle Cry

We are in a war for souls – for those 140,000 souls who are entering eternal suffering and punishment every day. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, ESV).

This is a spiritual battle, and we fight an enemy who “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He already knows his eternal destination, and he is trying to take as many with him as he can. “How can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?” (Matthew 12:29, ESV).

Right now, over 5 billion people are in shackles, in bondage to their own sin and to the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 4:4), and when we pray, we are in a war on their behalf.

Prayer is Supernational

In 2 Corinthians 10:4 Paul writes, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” If you’re in a battle, you had better know your enemy, and you had better fight with weapons that at least have a chance at victory.

But the weapons we fight with don’t just have a chance at victory…. God has already purchased men and women “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Revelation 7:9, ESV). And he has ordained that this supernatural harvest will take place in response to our prayers. So, when we pray, there is divine power! And that power – and that power alone – can demolish strongholds.

Prayer is Unique

In Mark chapter 9, a desperate father brought his demonized son to Jesus. The disciples couldn’t help the boy, so Jesus stepped in to set the boy free. The confused (and probably a little embarrassed) disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer” (Mark 9:14–29, ESV).

Prayer is unique among all the tools at our disposal – material, psychological, emotional, spiritual. According to Jesus, certain things only prayer can accomplish. Are those things important? If they are, then we must pray.

Prayer is Powerful

James tells us, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). But this isn’t because of the prayer itself. Billions of people pray every day, and their words are meaningless and inconsequential. Prayer is not powerful because of the words we say or the place we do it. Prayer is powerful because of the One to whom we pray!

Jesus says repeatedly that whatever we ask in his name will be done – to the glory of the Father (John 14:13–14; 15:16; 16:23–24). “I will do it,” he says! And he will do it…if we simply ask in his name.

Prayer is God’s Strategy

In Matthew chapter 9, Jesus travels through “all the cities and villages” teaching. As he sees the crowds, he has compassion for them, “because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” And then Jesus says to the disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 9:35–38).

Think about this scene: Jesus is looking out on the people and saying, “There they are – they’re everywhere. The harvest is ready.” The disciples around him understand the nuances of harvest. They know when it’s time and when it’s not. And Jesus says, “It’s time.” And not only is it time, but the harvest is plentiful!

Jesus is God – he has all the power and authority to do harvest right then and there. And he made clear that the time was right – the harvest is ready. But he doesn’t do it, because he has ordained to use his people for the harvest.

What does Jesus tell his disciples to do? There’s only one imperative verb in Jesus’ statement: ask! That is God’s strategy. It was his strategy then, and it is his strategy now. The harvest is plentiful, and the laborers are few; therefore pray!

But what about Romans 10:14–15? How will they hear if no one preaches? And how will someone preach if they haven’t been sent? Of course it’s critical to obey God’s call to go and to train, support, and mobilize. And that’s exactly what we see next in Matthew 9: Jesus sends out the twelve. But before that, his instruction – his command – was to pray.

Prayer is a Gift

Under the Old Covenant, only a few select people were allowed to pass through the curtain of the temple to enter the Holy of Holies. The high priest was the mediator between God and his people. But Jesus torn down the veil, and by his blood, he has given us access to God! “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5, ESV). We have the ear of the almighty God, the creator of the universe, and the sovereign I AM!

We know that over 5 billion people in the world worship a dead or a false god. Many of them pray regularly – fervently – to … no one! Their false gods “cannot see or hear” (Revelation 9:20). No one is going to answer them. But we have direct access to the one true God! However, far too often we ignore that fact.

At this very moment, we have communion with God. We have the honor, privilege, and gift of being able to “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Why pray? Because we can!

What, Then, Shall We Do?

We understand God’s heart for all peoples and nations. But knowing his heart and having his heart are two different things. We all carry the stain of sin, rooted in pride and self-centeredness. We (attempt to) put ourselves on the throne at the center of redemptive history. It’s wrong. It’s foolish. We long for the day it will cease to be the case. But until then, here are three specific prayers that will draw us – and the lost – to the Lord.

1. Pray for God’s Heart

Father, give me Your heart. It’s that simple. This is one of those incredible prayers we can pray with the utmost boldness and expectation – because we know it’s what God wants to do! He wants to give us his heart. He wants to mold us into the image of Christ. In fact, he promised he would (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26; Romans 8:29).

Lord, I know your heart is for all peoples. But my heart grows cold and hard. Soften my heart, God, and give me your heart for the lost. Open my eyes to see the multitudes the way You do.

2. Pray for God’s Glory

This is God’s highest priority. Think about Elijah’s prayer on Mount Carmel among the prophets of Baal which appears in 1 Kings 18:36–37. “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

He didn’t pray for the destruction of the idolatrous priests. He didn’t ask for thunderbolts from heaven. He didn’t pray against rebellious Israel. He prayed that the glory and power of God would be revealed.

Or what about Moses in Exodus 33:12–18? God had already relented his wrath. He had promised his presence would go with the Israelites. But Moses is still not content. He had already prevailed with God in prayer, and yet he continues asking: “Please show me your glory” (ESV).

This is the man who spoke with God in a bush that didn’t burn up. He watched God split the sea in half before his eyes. He watched God lead his people by a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. He struck a rock and water came out to replenish the people. He prayed for food, and bread fell from the sky. And when everyone else was warned to stay away, he was invited to come up on the mountain to commune with God.

If anyone had witnessed the glory of God, it was Moses. But he wanted more. This is one of the amazing qualities of God’s glory – once we’ve seen it, we have an insatiable desire for more. And so Moses pleaded for God to show him the fullness of his glory.

And this is the end of prayer, isn’t it? This is the ultimate goal of all supplication and petition: We want God! We want to see him. We want to know him. And we want him to be glorified on the earth. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray, “Hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9). That’s an imperative verb. It means make your name great! Glorify yourself!

Do you see that providence at work in prayer? His name will be hallowed. His kingdom will come. His will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And all of this will be done in response to the prayers of his people.

3. Pray for the Lost

Jesus said in John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (ESV). Pray that God would draw people. James writes, “You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2). So, pray for radical transformation and salvation – and that he would use you in the process.

Pray for God’s mercy on sinners. Moses does in Exodus 32. He sees the severity of their sin. He doesn’t appeal to their goodness, but to God’s great glory! ‘Save them for your name’s sake. Show your majesty by showering them with mercy.’ Just like Paul in Romans 9, Moses pleads in Exodus 32:32, “blot me out of your book that you have written” that these people might be saved.

Moses and Paul cried out, ‘Save them! Do whatever it takes, God! Take my own life if necessary, but glorify yourself in the salvation of these souls!’ Do we pray this way? We can!

Prayer Shapes History

When we join in God’s command to pray, we participate in shaping history for the glory of his great name! Resources like Prayercast (prayercast.com), Mission Network News (mnnonline.org), Operation World (operationworld.org), and Joshua Project (joshuaproject.net) can lead you in strategic, knowledgeable, fervent prayer for God’s heart, for his glory, and for the lost multitudes who are ignorantly running toward an eternity apart from our loving creator.

God, use our prayers to achieve your purposes … to glorify your name! Do whatever it takes to save the multitudes!

NOTES

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[i] “Global Dashboard,” Joshua Project, https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/statistics.

[ii] “Status of Global Christianity, 2022,” Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, https://www.gordonconwell.edu/center-for-global-christianity/resources/status-of-global-christianity/.

[iii] Roughly 161,000 people die each day (Worldometer, https://www.worldometers.info/). Of those, 32.2% (51,842) self-identify as Christians (“Status,” Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary). If even 40% of professing Christians were born again (which I believe is a high estimate), this amounts to roughly 21,000 born-again believers entering eternity every day. Thus 140,000 enter eternity apart from Jesus. Could this be off by 5,000? Sure. But the point isn’t the exact number. It’s the magnitude and urgency of the problem.

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EMQ, Volume 59, Issue 1. Copyright © 2023 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.