"Without Me You Can Do Nothing" - John 15:5
Northland has—as an integral part of its history—a planned, concerted effort to pray for missionaries. Until recently, students attended weekly Mission Prayer Band meetings where they learned about missionaries from a particular region and spent a block of time in prayer for them. In the place of Mission Prayer Band, starting October 7, the entire Northland family has been challenged to participate in round-the-clock prayer for missionaries around the world. The following explains the history, motives, and methods of how this is being accomplished.
The Biblical Challenge
Since it is manifestly clear that one cannot accomplish true ministry without God's hand of blessing, it follows that missions efforts rise and fall on the prayer of God's people. Jesus emphasized this truth when he saw the multitudes and was moved by compassion for them because they fainted and were scattered, having no shepherd. He explained that the solution to this missions dilemma was to pray to the Lord of the harvest that He would send out workers into the harvest (Matt. 9:36–38).
Historical Examples of the Impact of Prayer on Missions
This principle can be seen throughout missions history. One of the greatest missionary ventures of all time occurred among a group of Protestants known as the Moravians, spiritual descendents of Jon Huss. This group set a remarkable benchmark for its members, sending one person out of every twelve to the mission field. Over a period of one hundred and fifty years, over two thousand missionaries were sent out by this modestly sized community. This ratio has not been rivaled by any church group since that time and is more astounding when one considers that the ratio for Protestant missionaries today is one out of five thousand!
How was this accomplished? When the Moravians initially settled on the estate of Count Zinzendorf, the group was severely threatened by disunity. In an effort to restore the community, they decided to pray around the clock. On August 27, 1727, the believers agreed together to schedule every twenty-four hour period with slots for individuals to pray. Soon unity prevailed, and the Gospel became the focus of the community. Two members went out as the Moravians' first missionaries, and others followed. But the most amazing feature of this missionary venture was that this round-the-clock prayer meeting extended for one hundred years!
The beginning of the modern missionary movement was preceded by concentrated prayer. In fact, some missiologists argue that three things led up to this movement: 1) the colonialism of Great Britian; 2) the ease of trade and travel; and 3) the prayer movement of Jonathan Edwards. When one considers these three causes, one cannot help but be amazed that prayer would again appear as an essential link to missions. It happened that Edwards began to promote prayer for the cause of missions in the late 1740s. One of his sermons in 1748 called on the church of Jesus Christ to pray in "concert" for the advancement of the Gospel throughout the world. An organized proposal followed that explained the purpose and times for the "Concerts of Prayer." To summarize, the pastors from Boston with whom Edwards met agreed to get their churches to pray for more than two years (some agreed to seven years), specifically focusing on the spread of the Gospel throughout the world. News of these "Concerts of Prayer" spread throughout the east coast and even to Great Britain.
What was the result of these "Concerts of Prayer?" William Carey and a host of other missionaries! Missions agencies were formed on both sides of the Atlantic, and missionaries scattered throughout the world. It is manifestly clear that the answer to a missions-starved church is to pray. When the church goes to its knees and begs God to send out workers into the harvest, then God is pleased to do so.
Round-the-clock Prayer at Northland
To this end, the Northland Center for Global Opportunities challenges its students, faculty, and staff to a round-the-clock prayer meeting from October 7 to November 20, for the cause of the Gospel around the world. Perhaps God will be pleased to send out many workers into the harvest so as to reach every people group in the world. Each person is challenged to commit to praying at a designated time each week so that Northland can maintain this round-the-clock prayer emphasis.
Will you join in prayer for worldwide missions? Let us know if you need ideas on how to start a prayer initiative in your church, school, or group of believers. God has given us His promise that "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Let's take Him up on that promise.
To find out more, please e-mail cgo@ni.edu or call 715.324.6900 ext. 2300.