There are nearly 7,000 languages spoken around the world today, and more than 1,700 languages— including sign languages—that still need Bible translation to begin.
Much of this remaining work of Bible translation is happening in countries where the gospel isn’t welcome. Because of this, precautions must be taken about what information can be shared, particularly online. The work is sensitive, and we need to be careful to protect missionaries who are faithfully serving God by bringing His Word to people living in these hard-to-reach areas.
As prayer partners, we can cover these missionaries and their work in prayer. It’s a significant part of Bible translation! But how can you pray when you often don’t know specific details—the actual language name, or maybe even the country that they live in? The important thing is that God knows exactly who you’re praying for, where they live, and what’s happening in their community.
Here are a few tips to get you started as you pray for work happening in sensitive areas of the world:
1. Pray for what you do know. If possible, Wycliffe and other Bible translation organizations share details related to translation projects, teams, and communities that are being reached with the gospel. That way you can pray specifically and intentionally for what is happening around the world.
But sometimes names—whether of individuals, languages, or even countries—must be changed to protect the missionaries and their work. Even if an alternative name needs to be used, God knows who you’re talking about! Simply pray for the language, the people, and the work with whatever information you have available.
2. Pray for what you don’t know. Ask the Holy Spirit to pray on your behalf and trust that God will accomplish His will as He deems best.
The remaining 1,700 languages that still need translation work to begin are often in some of the most sensitive, hard-to-reach places that translation partner organizations have worked in. As a result, there may be significant obstacles to relaying information about projects starting, progressing, and even finishing. Often this information is so sensitive that it can’t be shared in any online platform. But these projects still need to be covered in prayer!
Ask the Holy Spirit to pray on your behalf and trust that God will accomplish His will. Even if you pray in generalities, your prayers still make a difference.
3. Pray for Bible translation in general. Bible translation can’t happen without the faithful prayers of God’s people. We’ve seen doors open, obstacles overcome, and lives changed because of people interceding on behalf of the work of Bible translation all around the world.
When you pray for God’s name to be made known among the nations, He listens—and He’s answering in tangible ways every day! Whether you know specifically what’s happening in a project, what people group is being reached, or what language is being translated, your prayers are fueling this life-transforming work.
4. Pray for those awaiting Scripture. Whether it’s a portion, the New Testament, or all of Scripture, pray for the hearts of those waiting for the Word in their own language. Some have been waiting years for translation to begin and others are expecting more Scriptures to gain a deeper understanding of God’s plan for their lives. Pray for communities and governments (even if you don’t know them by name) to be prepared to welcome and receive translation work and, ultimately, the gospel. Pray for mother-tongue translators, exegetical consultants, and other critical workers to be raised up and strengthened for the task.
As you pray, join with the psalmist when he declares, “I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray” (Ps. 17:6, nlt). God hears your prayers, and He’s answering them. Whether you know who exactly you’re praying for or not, He’s at work.
There are several Bible translation ministries working in partnership to translate God’s Word into every language in the next several years, including Wycliffe, Pioneer Bible Translators, SIL Translation, American Bible Society, JAARS, and others. The Seed Company (seedcompany.com) offers a prayer guide to help accelerate the translation of Scripture into every heart language by 2025. Their goal is to see 3.22 billion people freed from darkness—zero prisoners—through access to God’s Word.
As you lift up the work of Bible translation and the lives that are impacted when they hear God’s Word in their own language for the very first time, you can trust that God will answer.
–Adapted from Wycliffe Bible Translators blog (wycliffe.org/prayer).
