When Praying for the Nations Changes Your Life
Pray for the Word of God to be known in Cote d’Ivoire
Pray for Cote d’Ivoire
Invest in Cote d’Ivoire
Invest in Cote d’IvoireAs a new believer in college, my friend Brandon taught me about discipleship, one-to-one Bible studies, and the fact that millions will die around the world without ever hearing the gospel.
A year later, we went to a large missions conference. The organizers challenged us to go to a big prayer wall, pick a card, and commit to praying for the people group on that card for a certain amount of time.
I turned my card over and read about the Hausa: a French-speaking people in Côte d’Ivoire. In that moment, the notion of the nations became concrete. And my prayer life changed forever.
That’s not all that changed. Prayer for nations is good because God deserves their worship and uses our prayers to accomplish his purposes in the world for his glory. But praying for the nations is also good for us. Let me share three reasons why.
PRAYING FOR THE NATIONS BROADENS YOUR HORIZONS
I grew up in a small town in the American South. The closest we got to cultural exploration was a trip to the local Mexican restaurant. Praying for the nations, however, started to cultivate a curiosity about the people I was praying for and their culture. You’re getting information about a particular people group to inform your prayers, and you notice they like to eat this dish, play a certain kind of music, or share a specific history.
In other words, praying for the nations has made me celebrate God’s common grace. I liked soccer before I was saved, but now I love the World Cup. Where else do you get to see South Africans, South Koreans, and Czechs together, cheering on their teams in ways that make their culture unique? You learn about the regions where players are from and how nations have intersected in the past. As a Christian, you’re watching the unique ways God’s image bearers, broken and sinful though they are, reflect the wisdom of their Maker whether they know it or not.
Taking time to study the people groups you pray for is a way to identify with them in our common humanity. Not everything about their culture (or ours) should be celebrated. But even the terrible things happening among a nation expand your empathy with the people living in it and provide even more fodder for your prayers.
PRAYING FOR THE NATIONS BROADENS YOUR HEART
Is there a kind of person, deep down, you aren’t sure can be saved? You probably wouldn’t say it, but in our flesh it’s far too easy to write them off—whoever they are. Maybe it’s because of the religion they practice or things people in their country have done to harm the cause of Christ in their land. If we aren’t careful, we may find ourselves rooting for their condemnation, not salvation, like Jonah did with the Ninevites (Jonah 4).
Prayer is the remedy to this problem. I think many of us who grew up in the years after 9/11 were taught that Muslim people were the enemy. If anyone was outside of God’s reach, surely it was them. But when God opened my eyes to the truth that we all share the same fundamental heart disease, and I started to pray for them as someone else who needed grace, my heart warmed. I was God’s enemy too, but he made me his friend in Christ. Prayer conditioned my heart to pray the exact same thing would happen to those I used to “other.”
Are the headlines tempting you to unrighteous anger, even hatred? Get on your knees and pray. Ask the Lord to remove any pride or prejudice lurking in your heart and to work the miracle in their heart he worked in yours. Prayer softens a hard heart. Confess your coldness towards your neighbor and watch your affection for them begin to warm.
PRAYING FOR THE NATIONS BROADENS YOUR AMBITIONS
Fair warning: praying for the nations may change the trajectory of your life. I’ve had countless friends whose role in world evangelization began with prayer. But it didn’t stop there. The Lord used their intercession to direct them towards being the answer to their own petitions.
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. That’s why we pray! God has promised to redeem people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation (Revelation 7:9). But how can they believe if they don’t hear? And how can they hear if people are sent out as laborers into the harvest?
Praying for the nations reminds us what’s most important. For some, that will mean leaving the comforts of home to cross cultures with the gospel. For others, our prayers will lead us to generously support those who go. Either way, the discipline of praying for those who have not yet bowed the knee to King Jesus refocuses our heart on playing our part in the Great Commission.
TAKE YOUR FIRST STEP
Want to get started? Check out the prayer guides Radical has published. Grab a copy of Operation World. Ask the Lord to do great things for his glory around the globe and accomplish his good purposes in your heart as well.
