{Matthew 28:18-20 ESV} - 18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
The Great Commission. If you've signed on to this prayer journey, this is probably the seal that was over your passport. It's the charge Jesus left to the church and it will remain in effect until every people group has heard the Gospel and Jesus returns (see Matthew 24:14). He's even given us a specific way to pray - for laborers for the harvest (see Luke 10:2). Today, read "The Great Commission" section on pages 18-21, then return here for our prayer time.
"The whole church bringing the whole Gospel to the whole world." This motto of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization provides a great framework for the prayer requests today. As Operation World observes, "How speedily the world would be evangelized if all believers and every congregation obeyed the commands of Jesus in Acts 1 and believed His promises of enablement through the Holy Spirit." How true that is! Too often churches see the Great Commission as optional, not central. (See this chart for how different missions looks when it's integrated into the life of a church versus when it is a "program".) As we pray today for the world, let's also seek God for how He wants to use us, individually and corporately, for His kingdom purposes. If you're not already involved in mobilizing your church for missions, you might want to pray about what God would have you to do to increase the missions vision of your church even as you pray today for missions vision in the global church!
My prayer for today: Lord, the Great Commission often becomes the great "omission" in many churches, not just here but globally. Lord, we pray for completely and total obedience to this commission by every church in the world. That's a big prayer, God, but we know undoubtedly it is within Your will because that is the task You gave the church. It's why we are still here instead of taken immediately to heaven when we are saved. Lord, give wisdom to churches and agencies to make glorifying You by obedience to the Great Commission their primary objective. Multiply prayer movements, adoption of unreached peoples, and other tools that are means for completing the task. I pray for unity among the churches and agencies so that it's not about who gets the convert, but it's about working together for a common goal. Help churches see themselves as launching pads for missionaries - including our church, Lord. We withhold no person from Your call. If you want to send our leaders Lord, we don't want to keep them here. For those missionaries already on the field, we pray for strength and protection and adjustment to cultural differences, and we pray for discernment about spiritual attacks. We pray for an appropriate distribution of missionaries so that the entire world is reached for You, as quickly as possible. Thank You Lord that You have allowed us to participate with You in this task that You could easily do without us. In Jesus name, amen.
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