Praying For the Nations

Several weeks ago, another single dude and myself started meeting up weekly to intentionally pray for one another and for the nations. Most of us have a significant amount of experience praying for one another...and in most cases that time spent praying for one another is great for building one another up, encouraging each other in whatever we are currently walking through, etc. But what about praying for the nations? Can that encourage and convict us as well?

I feel as though praying for the gospel to move throughout the nations is something that most of us neglect. This neglect is easy to understand; to most of us, countries such as Belarus, Eritrea, Mauritania, Qatar, and Tajikistan probably sound as though I just made them up. These countries and their problems seem so incredibly distant from us that from the comfort of our great nation, we can all together forget that they even exist, if we even knew that they existed in the first place. I plead with you to (a) not forget these nations and (b) realize that praying for the nations will drastically effect your biblical Christian worldview.

To briefly touch on point (a), God desires for all the ends of the earth to remember and turn to the Lord - he rules over all the nations, even those in rebellion against Him (Psalm 22:27-28). We are commanded to declare His glory among the nations, to share of His marvelous works among all the peoples, to baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that Christ has commanded you (Psalm 96:3,10, Matthew 28:18-20). Though we may not presently be fighting on the frontier mission battlefield, because God is sovereign over all the nations, people, governments, etc. we need to pray that He would stir movements in the nations and watch and be amazed at what He does.

The point that I really want to make in this post is that praying for the nations will be an incredible experience. I would suggest praying for one specific country at a time. Subscribe to the Voice Of the Martyrs newsletter, or buy Operation World. Read about the country. Read what prevents the gospel from moving through that country. Read a few stories of how Christians are being persecuted in that nation. Then...pray.

This time of prayer has been so absolutely incredible for me because each and every time, I find myself utterly amazed of how the Spirit is working in that nation through even a few individuals and also how applicable and encouraging those stories are to my life in a polar opposite culture. Let me explain:

• The first week we prayed for Afghanistan. The VOM 2010 global report told of a few stories of Christians who were severely beaten (with the intent on death) when radicals/al Qaeda found they were sharing Christ with others...but both men remain firm in their faith even after multiple death threats if they don't stop evangelizing. Application: how often do we back down from boldly proclaiming Christ because of a slight emotional discomfort?

• Second up was Algeria. The government has ended an era of relative religious liberty in 2006...a new law states that house churches are not permitted. This law was passed in an effort to stop evangelism and church growth in this nation. VOM tells the story of one church who stopped meeting briefly, seeking God's desire for their church, but decided to resume meeting and face any consequences. They were threatened many times by police but gathering together melted their fear and renewed their courage. Application: how are we being encouraged by gathering. How excited am I to get up and worship my creator each morning.

• Third was Azerbaijan. This country's government limits religious freedom, owns (literally) the media and uses it to encourage people to return to Islam. Application: why do we abuse our freedom of the press and endorse programing that defames Christ and encourages sin. Religious organizations have to register with the government. VOM tells the story of officials raiding a home where 12 children had gathered to listen to Bible stories - their names were recorded, 508 books and 40 films were confiscated. VOM tells the story of 3 believers that were fined for "illegally spreading Christianity and other faiths". Application: Thank you Jesus that we are not persecuted for encouraging one another and sharing the good news that Christ lived THE sinless life, and bore ALL of OUR sins on the cross so that we could have access to an eternity of fellowship with our creator.

I don't recall any prayer for the nations where I was not left incredibly encouraged, convicted, and thankful. Each week my eyes have leaked uncontrollably (though I try my best to hide it). And each week I see a difference in how I look at the world. I pray that you would experience the same.