“Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations. His marvelous works among all the peoples, for great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. And he is to be feared above all gods, for all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.”
– 1 Chronicles 16:23–26
I could keep going past 1 Chronicles 16:23–26. I love 1 Chronicles chapter 16, this song of praise to God as the arc is brought into Jerusalem. And David just erupts in worship. We see much of this language in the Psalms, but I want to lead us today to pray according to these verses in particular. So let me say the first couple verses again. Sing to the Lord all the earth. Tell of his salvation from day to day, declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples.
God, we pray for the spread of your name, the name of Jesus, the name that is above all names in all the nations.
1 Chronicles 16:23–26 Reminds Us of God’s Greatness
I’m reading this, and I’m thinking about just a couple of days ago. I was with a group of 18, 19, 20-year-olds. Hundreds of them who were gathered together for three months in training to proclaim the gospel. And the next three months they’re going to go to different places around the world to spread the gospel. And during this training time, they spend three hours a day from 8:00 to 9:00 in the morning and from 1:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon praying together in worship for the spread of God’s glory among all the nations.
We were praying for, just listing out all kinds of different nations. I want to do that with you. I mean, this is only like a couple of minutes. What would it look like if we were praying in our lives and our families and our churches for hours, just all the time praying this? What might God do among the nations? So let’s do it.
Praying for Unreached People in Indonesia
God, we say that you are great. Your name is great. You’re greatly to be praised. All the gods of the peoples of the nations are worthless idols. You alone are the Lord. You alone are God. We worship you, and we pray just as Jesus taught us to pray for the hollowing of your name among all the nations. May all the nations know that you are holy. May all the peoples and all the nations know that you are holy. We pray today for the Balinese people of Indonesia. God, we pray for those in Bali. May they know the name of Jesus. May they praise the name of Jesus. God, we pray for …
Let’s just start listening nations. And I’m going to list some out, but maybe you lift some nations up, maybe even after this particular podcast episode is over.
Praying for Unreached People Across the World
God, we pray for your glory to be made known in Yemen, for your glory to be made known in Afghanistan for the spread of the gospel in your glory. In Argentina, in Brazil, in the Amazon, God, we pray for the spread of your glory among indigenous peoples all throughout the Amazon, some that have not been reached for centuries. God, we pray for the spread of your glory, your name in Saudi Arabia, in Somalia, in North Korea. God re pray for the spread of your glory, your name in Uzbekistan, in Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan.
We pray for the spread of your glory in France and Spain and Germany and Italy, Rome. God, we pray for the spread of your glory across Africa, in Eritrea, in Djibouti. God, in Kenya, in Uganda. We pray for the spread of your glory in Sudan. We pray for the spread of your glory in Niger and Nigeria and South Africa and Mozambique. God, we pray for the spread of glory in Turkey and Greece. God, we pray for the spread of your glory in Russia.
1 Chronicles 16:23–26 Calls Us to Pray for the Spread of Your Name
God, we pray for the spread of your name, the name of Jesus, the name that is above all names in all the nations. God, we pray for this, and we pray that you would teach us to pray, lead to pray. Don’t let us sit silent. Help us to declare your glory among the nations in prayer and then with our mouths. God, we praise you. I think about opportunities I’ve had just over the last week to share the gospel with people from all kinds of different nations that you’ve brought here. We pray that you’d help us to proclaim your glory to people right around us from all nations, people who look like us and people who don’t look like us. God, we pray that you would spend our lives however you desire for your glory among the nations.
God, that you would bless all those students, hundreds of them going around the world. Bless them for the spread of your glory among the nations. And God, we pray that you would do the same in each of our lives, in each of our families, and in each of our churches and, God, that you would raise up the next generation to love you more than they love life itself and to give their lives in making your glory known among the nations. We pray this according to I Chronicles chapter 16 in Jesus’s name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
