The Forgotten Command of Jesus - Church Prayer Leaders Network

Prayer Fuels Bursts of Missionary Energy

By Dan Crawford

I’ve often wondered what prompted Jesus’ disciples to ask Him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). Many things happened between their call to follow Him and their request to be taught prayer—the cleansing of a leper, healing people miraculously, engaging in controversies over fasting and the observance of the Sabbath, setting forth the Beatitudes, teaching through parables, raising of the dead, stilling a storm at sea, casting out demons, feeding thousands with bread and fish, and being transfigured before their eyes.

In Luke’s Gospel, just one chapter prior to the disciples’ request, Jesus described the harvest as plentiful and the laborers as few, and then He told them to pray (Luke 10:2). Since He was sending 70 of them into the harvest, two-by-two, they might have been surprised that He included prayer in His outreach strategy. They obviously understood the commands to go, serve, share, minister, teach, and preach. But the command to pray? This may have been the most confusing command of Jesus. Today, in many circles, it is the forgotten command of Jesus.

The Bible supports this command of the Lord by instructing us to pray for the harvest. The psalmist records God’s decree, “Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession” (Ps. 2:8).

The Apostle Paul writes, “I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people. . . . This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1, 3–4).

Although there is no mention of prayer in the Great Commission (recorded in Acts 1:8), the narrative of the early Church continues with these words: “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer” (Acts 1:14, NASB). The early believers went directly from receiving the commission to praying for their world. Within a matter of days these disciples had “filled Jerusalem” with their teaching about Christ (Acts 5:28). The model is clear—from the upper room (with unity and prayer) to every room (with salvation and disciples).

Read through the Acts of the Apostles and you will easily note the growth of the early Church. Extraordinary praying accompanied the expansion of the Church. The first Christian spiritual awakening resulted from ten days of united prayer. The 120 disciples were praying, and God added 3,000 people to the church (Acts 2:41). The disciples continued praying (Acts 2:42), and God “added daily” to the church (Acts 2:47). “Many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand” (Acts 4:4). As the believers continued further in prayer (Acts 4:31–33), “multitudes of men and women” were continually being added to the church (Acts 5:14, NASB).

By the year 100 A.D. an estimated five percent of the Roman Empire had become Christian. This could largely be attributed to the faithful praying of the early Church.

Bursts of Missionary Energy

In addition to Scripture’s connection between prayer and missions harvest, Christian history likewise offers further support. Every fresh burst of missionary energy has been preceded by believing prayer.

In 1723 Robert Millar, a Presbyterian minister, wrote A History of the Propagation of Christianity and the Overthrow of Paganism, in which he advocated intercession as the primary means of converting “the heathen.”

In the summer of 1727, the Moravian Brethren held a “round-the-clock prayer watch” seven days per week, which continued for approximately 100 years. This was the beginning of the modern missionary movement as young men out of the Moravian faith answered God’s call to begin missionary work in the Virgin Islands—all in response to the intercessory prayer of other Moravians.

In 1747, Christians in Boston entered into a seven-year “concert of prayer” for missionary work. The following year Jonathan Edwards responded with a call for all believers to engage in intercessory prayer for the spread of the gospel throughout the earth.

In 1783, a call went out to all Baptists to set aside the first Monday of each month for united intercessory prayer for “the heathen of the world.”

In 1806, missions crossed the Atlantic and landed at Williams College in Williamstown, MA. There, a group of students led by Samuel J. Mills covenanted to pray together and study the Bible. On a Wednesday afternoon, in a thunderstorm—and under a haystack for protection—the group committed themselves to missions to the ends of the earth. They signed a pledge to be America’s first foreign missionaries. Thus began the Student Volunteer Missions Movement—the beginning of missionary activity from within the United States.

Later in the nineteenth century, Hudson Taylor founded the China Inland Mission. And during his 50 years of service, it was said the sun never rose in China without finding Hudson Taylor on his knees.

The Shantung revivals in China may well be the most important event in the history of world missions. John Abernathy writes, “In all the churches was held daily an early morning meeting for prayer and Bible study. . . . The revival came about as a result of earnest prayer by groups and individuals.”¹

These are but a few examples of the relationship between prayer and world missionary activity. Whatever else a study of missions history tells us, it demonstrates that behind every outburst of real mission in the life of the Church, we find those who prayed until the Spirit of God came upon them. Then in the Spirit’s power they went out to witness the mighty acts of God. In every case the new movement to world missions parallels the waiting, praying group of disciples in the upper room at Pentecost, as they lived out the command of their Lord to pray for the harvest.

Revival of Prayer

The relationship between prayer and world missions cannot be overemphasized. Truly the evangelization of the world waits first of all upon a revival of prayer. Deeper than the need for missionaries—deeper far than the need for finances—is the need for prevailing, worldwide prayer.

Consider the example of Presbyterian missionary John “Praying” Hyde—slow of speech and hard of hearing—who served Christ in India during the 19th century. Hyde was a praying man, but he realized that the Mohammedan priests were praying at 5:00 a.m. each day. So Hyde began to pray from 4:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. daily. He prayed, “One soul per day or I die,” and at the end of the first year, more than 400 became Christians as a result of his ministry. Then Hyde revised his prayer to “Two souls per day or I die.” At the end of the second year more than 800 had become Christians. Further challenged, Hyde prayed, “Four souls a day or I die.” During that year Hyde died of a “displaced heart,” meaning that his heart had moved within his chest. He lived the last months of his life under terrific stress. But it was John Hyde who said, “I’d rather burn out than rust out.”²

Many people think of missions as ministry performed somewhere else, even to the remotest part of the earth. In reality, missions may be ministry right where you live. Whether your concept of ministry is something nearby or far off, we must move beyond our normal prayer lives to pray for “the ends of the earth” and those who live and work there.

S. D. Gordon reminds us, “Prayer puts us in direct dynamic touch with the world. A man may go aside today and shut the door, and as really spend a half-hour of his life in India for God as though he were there in person. Surely you and I must get more half-hours for this secret service.”³ I have heard, read, and been a part of the planning of more mission strategies than I can remember. Those saturated with prayer were in the minority.

It must have thrilled Jesus to be asked about prayer, especially after everything the disciples had experienced since their call—and on the heels of His command to go to the harvest field. And it would no doubt thrill Him today if we made prayer more a part of our harvest-field strategy.

Away in foreign fields,they wondered howTheir simple word had power—At home, some Christians,two or three, had metTo pray an hour.

We are always wondering—wondering how,Because we do not seeSomeone—Perhaps unknownand far away—On bended knee.⁴

¹ John A. Abernathy, The Shantung Revival, The Church Proclaiming and Witnessing, ed. Edwin L. McDonald (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1966), 81-83.² See also Francis McGaw, Praying Hyde (Minneapolis: Dimension Books, 1970).³ S.D. Gordon, Quiet Talks on Prayer (Old Tappan, N. J.: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1903), 15, 82.⁴ Quoted by Frank C. Laubach, “The Power of Intercession” in Prayer: The Mightiest Force in the World (New York: Fleming H. Revell Co, 1946), 40.

DAN CRAWFORD is senior professor (retired) at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Portions of this article were adapted from The Prayer-Shaped Disciple by Dan R. Crawford, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999, especially chapter 16: “As You Go . . . Pray” and chapter 17: “Praying to the Ends of the Earth.”

What Happens When We Pray for the Persecuted Church?

By Bob Fetherlin

With much toil in seed-sowing and cultivating, missionaries of The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) poured out their lives in love for Christ and the peoples of Vietnam from 1911 to 1975:

translating and publishing the Bible into several languages
establishing medical clinics, including a leprosarium to care for lepers
planting churches, training and equipping leaders.

The work of Christ in that land took root and grew. Local churches, led by local leaders in the local language, reflected the glory of Christ through the local culture—all reasons for encouragement, even rejoicing.

Then came the Vietnam War. Thousands of Vietnamese followers of Christ endured suffering, including the destruction of their property, serious injury, imprisonment, and even loss of life.

Two C&MA missionaries were marched off into the jungle, never to be seen again by their loved ones, local partners, and missionary colleagues. Seven more C&MA missionaries were killed during the Tet Offensive in 1968. By 1975, all C&MA missionaries had left Vietnam, leaving behind about 60,000 Vietnamese followers of Jesus.

In the years that followed, news of the state of the churches in Vietnam was sparse. Many questions and deep concerns remained. Would hardship result in a massive falling away from faith in Christ? Would pressures on the churches result in believers being scattered? Would pastors and church leaders be persecuted for their faith?

Although we could not find clear answers to these questions, we knew one thing we could do: pray! The C&MA family of churches in the United States joined together with sister churches in many other nations to pray for the churches of Vietnam.

After more than 25 difficult years, increasing openness in that country provided an opportunity for C&MA leaders from the United States to visit Vietnam. It was an overwhelming honor for me to be a part of this. Sitting face to face with the leaders of the C&MA sister churches of Vietnam, we sought to listen, encourage, and learn. I’ll never forget the moment when we asked them, “About how many followers of Jesus are now a part of your church family?”

“We’re now at more than one million believers,” they responded.

We all sat in awe of our marvelous God and what He had done. In fewer than three decades, the 60,000 believers (at the time when C&MA missionaries left in 1975) grew to more than one million!

Tears rolled down my cheeks as this incredible reality sunk in. I looked into the faces of these Vietnamese church leaders who had been through extremely trying times, and I knew they represented thousands of others who had suffered.

While those hostile to the gospel may believe they can oppress, even destroy the Church, we learned that the Church infused by the resurrection power of Jesus Christ could not be contained. Contrary to the intentions of some, the final chapter for the Church in Vietnam had not been written. In the midst of difficult times, the Church stood strong and even flourished! There were—and are—many more chapters to come.

An Oppressed Church Will Grow

Exodus 1:12 says, “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread.” The context is the account of God’s people enslaved in Egypt. The important principle embedded in that account is this: Try to suppress or destroy the Church, and it will multiply and spread.

This has happened over and over again in history. Jesus reinforced this principle when He said, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matt. 16:18).

May we be faithful in praying for the persecuted Church. Yes, church buildings can be closed, even destroyed. Followers of Jesus can face all kinds of difficulty, including torture, jeers, flogging, imprisonment, and even death (Heb. 11:35–37). Yet because of bold, rock-solid faith birthed through prayer, because of God’s passionate, tender care of His people, because of His relentless, uncompromising commitment to His own glory, and because of the resurrection power of Christ at work, God can turn the weakness of His people into strength!

BOB FETHERLIN is the president of One Mission Society and the former vice president for the International Ministries of The Christian and Missionary Alliance.