Pray For The Perishing!
By Lois J. Stucky
Praise the Lord if He has stimulated your prayer life through reading the articles in this issue of Herald of His Coming! Who among us does not need help in putting into practice what we may already know about prayer, that it is more than a casual, if-I-have-time-for-it matter! Prayer is taking firm hold of God in prayer for the extreme needs in an hour of greatest extremities. On the following two pages, you are being invited to join in praying for the 10/40 Window countries. A quick look at pages 10 and 11, however, may leave you feeling somewhat intimidated. "Pray for these countries I hardly know exist, when there are so many things personally and locally to pray for?" you might ask. "And look at the formidable topics suggested for prayer, like persecution, corruption, terrorism, etc.! This requires a greater prayer stalwart than me!" The enemy Satan will do all he can to dissuade you from participating in praying for the 10/40 Window countries.
But all of us can take encouragement from a word from God through the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:26: "The Spirit… helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit [Himself] maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Yes, God promises us the help we need in our praying. It is good to claim this help for each time of prayer before we begin. And we read in Ephesians 5:18, "…be filled with the Spirit." This is to be a constant in our Christian lives, but at no time is it more vital than when we pray. Ever seek the control of the Holy Spirit in your praying.
Furthermore, we do well to clothe ourselves in the armor of God for this is prayer warfare in which we are to engage. See Ephesians 6:10-18 for the armor of God. The vicious foe, Satan is serious about preventing us from interfering with his domain. In 1 John 5:19 we are told that the whole world "lies under the sway of the wicked one." But let us take heart as we realize we are working together with Almighty God as we pray for the people in the 10/40 lands. He loves them, and He wants the Gospel of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to invade these lands and bring many into His Kingdom of light! God is working toward His eternal purpose that the kingdoms of this world are to become "…the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev. 11:15). Hallelujah! What a noble calling and task it is to have even a minute part in something so exalted and enduring!
Results of United Prayer
You may recall comments shared by Dick Eastman in Herald of His Coming some months ago. Dick Eastman was one of the original group burdened for an intensive prayer effort for the 10/40 Window countries. He tells that two years after the prayer effort began, he spoke with a missionary from an area of the world for which prayer was made. Dick asked if he noticed any difference after the praying of millions of Christians. The missionary replied that since the country where they worked was unfriendly to Christianity, during their earlier visitations to share Christian literature to a particular village, they were not invited into one home. In fact, doors were slammed; they were spit at and threatened. After the first period of united prayer for the 10/40 Window, in revisiting the same village, they were invited into the homes of a number and they led to Jesus Christ over 2,000 persons where they were earlier rejected! What a blessed confirmation that God works in answer to the united prayers of His people! We can count on God to answer prayer. Can He count on us to offer prayer?
Please uphold in believing prayer the missionaries in the 10/40 area of the world. Include the courageous national missionaries who go to the unreached in their own land, doing so at considerable risk. Highly respecting them is not enough. God would have us invest something of sacrifice along with them, sacrificing time and heart concern in prayer in order that the Gospel might have free course and run throughout the earth, for then the end shall come! (Matt. 24:14).
We invite you also to pray for Herald of His Coming and Herald International editions. You may request a daily prayer guide for Herald of His Coming when you write us. And thank you for every prayer offered for this ministry as together we take part in going into all the world with the Gospel to help rescue the perishing!