Psalm 119:81  "My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word."

The Salar of Northwest China

How Prayer Impacts the Unreached

(Taken from Focus! The Power of People Group Thinking by John D. Robb)

        History has provided so many wonderful examples for us to learn from when it comes to prayer.  So many times we as Christians do not tap into our resources and the power available through prayer.  Why do we try so hard to get things done for God and yet forget to pray for God to work through us?  James Fraser was a missionary to the Lisu tribe and was about to give up his work, when he tapped into his prayer resources.  After praying a prayer of faith for several 100 missionary families to come to Christ, and enlisting prayer support from 8-10 ongoing prayer warriors back home, 100’s of Lisu families began coming to Christ.  The work among the Lisu is still ongoing today.  Why don’t we pray more?

        There are nine reasons as to why we should pray, taken from the history of missions, and also from Scripture, and I will try to briefly describe each one.

1.  God Desires and Requires Intercessory Prayer for the Accomplishment of His Saving Purpose for the Peoples of the Earth

- Jesus told us to pray.

- Abraham interceded for Lot and Lot was saved.

- Moses interceded for Israel and God’s wrath subsided.

2.  Victory in the Spiritual Realm is Primary, and It Is Won by Prayer.

- Moses prayed when fighting the Amelekites and the victory was won

- King Jehoshaphat relied on united prayer and fasting, public  worship, and praise when invading    Israel’s enemies and the enemies were defeated.

3.  Prayer Has Always Undergirded and Extended the Missionary Outreach of the Church.

      - Prayer is mentioned over 30 times in the book of Acts; most generally before a Christian movement.

- Before Peter’s sermon converting 3,000 unbelievers, apostles had “all joined together constantly in prayer.” (1:4)

- Signs and wonders and the filling of the Holy Ghost all took place AFTER prayer.  (2,4)

- Prayer and fasting led to the sending out of Paul and Barnabas. (13:1-3)

4.  Spiritual Revivals Wrought by Prayer Have Had a Major Impact on Frontier Missions.

      - Goforth told of a saint in England who prayed faithfully.  When he looked at the dates that she had especially been impressed to pray, they were the exact days when God was doing His mightiest work in Manchuria and China.

- It was after prayers of missionaries who were moved strongly to pray that the Great  Awakening took place.

5.  Intercessory Prayer Enables God’s Children to Possess Their Inheritance, the People’s of the Earth.              

- Psalm 2:8 says, “Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance and the ends of  the earth your possession.”

- Intense prayer proceeded a large Korean revival, which brought around 50,000 to Christ.

6.  Effective Mission Strategies Come from Research Immersed in Prayer.

     - Joshua spied out the land, continually seeking God’s guidance and he was effective.

7.  Prayer is the Supernatural Way of Multiplying and Sending out Christian Workers into the Frontier Missions.

- Hudson Taylor prayed for laborers when the workers were few and God would supply.  Once it was 70 workers, and another time it was 100 workers; each time within the  specified time and with support supplied.

8.  Prayer Opens Closed Doors for Occupation by a Christian Presence.

- Believers in the African country of Guinea prayed faithfully and their Marxist leader was removed within a year, and replaced with a leader who opened the door to missions.  They also laid hands on maps and prayed for areas in the country that had no Christian influence and today every one of the people groups they prayed for are now occupied by a national or missionary effort.

9.  Aggressive Praying or “Spiritual Warfare” Praying Breaks the Control of the Powers of Darkness over People Groups, Cities and Nations.

- Binding the “strong man” is important before “robbing” his house, Jesus says. (Mark 3:27)

- We need to, through prayer, bind the evil spirits that rule a person or place before  claiming  God’s victory.

With all of these examples of the power of prayer, let’s pray!! Tribes will be won for Jesus!!