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Extraordinary Prayer in Missions Strategy
162 Plays1 year ago
In this episode of the "Let's Talk Diaspora" podcast, hosts Rebecca and Bud explore the significance of an extraordinary prayer strategy for engaging unreached people groups within diaspora communities. They address the tension between exclusive prayer and apostolic workers without strong prayer strategies. Emphasizing that prayer is the foundation, they discuss its interconnectedness with various aspects of disciple-making.
The hosts highlight the importance of divine connections and clear proclamation while referencing passages like Luke 10 and Colossians 4. They stress the need to pray for spiritual breakthroughs and address strongholds within different religious backgrounds. Resources such as the Prayer Strategist website and virtual prayer walks on UPG North America are recommended for informed prayer.
Rebecca and Bud discuss the impact of community prayer networks, the significance of listening to God in prayer, and the vital role of prayer in church planting movements. They encourage listeners to prioritize prayer across all aspects of the apostolic task, emphasizing that it should be an integral part of church life.
The hosts remind listeners that prayer involves both talking to and listening to God, urging them to align with God's heart through consistent, community-based prayer.
Other Prayer Resources:
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Season Overview
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome to the Let's Talk Diaspora podcast.
Strategies for Reaching the Diaspora
00:00:09
Speaker
This season, we're diving into various strategies for reaching the unreached people groups within a diaspora. And we're also talking about that uncomfortable middle.
The Role of Prayer in Missions
00:00:20
Speaker
Today's topic or today's episode, we're discussing the important aspect of developing an extraordinary prayer strategy.
00:00:30
Speaker
So an extra ordinary prayer strategy and disciple in the nations to the diaspora.
Balancing Prayer and Action
00:00:36
Speaker
But what's the uncomfortable middle about prayer? It's, it's hard to pick an uncomfortable middle because like, if you talk to any born again believer and ask them, is prayer an important aspect? They're going to say yes, yes. And amen. But some of the tension I see related around prayer is you have some people who feel as if, um,
00:01:01
Speaker
They are a prayer missionary and all they do is pray and have no engagement. Now, I'm not saying we don't need people who just pray, but thinking about, if you remember the big picture of the apostolic worker, I don't think there's a role for the apostolic worker to just be a prayer warrior with no activity.
Defining Roles: Prayer Warriors vs Apostolic Workers
00:01:26
Speaker
The other opposite side of that is we have people who are apostolic workers who don't have really good develop prayer strategies. And so you have this kind of this tension between one side being we only pray and we let the Lord do everything and we don't do anything. And then the other side is, yeah, I pray a little bit, but I really want to do a whole lot. And I'm trusting that I'm going to do everything and the Lord might do
Integrating Prayer with Evangelism
00:01:53
Speaker
a little bit. So does that make sense of,
00:01:55
Speaker
maybe some tension that we see in prayer. It makes a lot of sense. And I mean, I definitely see that. I think we have to look at all of these roles, the apostolic worker as well as prayer warrior. And there's times that God's going to call us into each of these pieces.
00:02:12
Speaker
I think we need to realize that we all have a part in the evangelism part. Some people feel like they're an evangelist and I'm not an evangelist. So yes, I see that very clear that some people would say, well, I'm going to be the prayer warrior and that's my job in this whole big picture of kingdom work.
Prayer in Apostolic Vision
00:02:30
Speaker
Yeah. I don't want people to mishear me of like saying it's not important to have people who pray consistently and focused
00:02:42
Speaker
But that person is maybe part of an apostolic team where they're contributing to an apostolic vision. But I'm just saying they're not an apostolic worker because an apostolic worker is we defined as someone who is praying, is called out, is sent, connects with people, shares the gospel, disciples them, plants churches, and develops leaders. There are people that are aspects of that.
00:03:15
Speaker
Well, let's focus in a little bit on prayer. And what is that?
Prayer as a Foundation for Apostolic Tasks
00:03:20
Speaker
I think one thing that I've heard us say already, but I will say it again, prayer is not like secondary. It's really the foundation. It's the root. It goes to me when I think about prayer, I think of that relationship again aspect of doing it hand in hand with the Lord and not on your own.
00:03:29
Speaker
But they're part of the team. They're not the apostolic worker.
00:03:42
Speaker
So let's start exploring why do we have a prayer strategy and why is it crucial with engaging diaspora communities? But can you get us started on that? Yeah, so I mean at the very beginning we have to understand that the apostolic task is a spiritual task. You know, if the Lord doesn't build the house,
00:04:05
Speaker
It crumbles. And so when we think of developing our strategy, it has to start with prayer because it's a spiritual battle. One, we need spiritual protection. Two, people are being spiritually blinded and deceived, which only God can remove those blinders from people. Only God can protect us from the arrows of the enemy as we put on the armor of God. But I believe we do that through prayer.
00:04:36
Speaker
You're right, bud, we do it through prayer. And I think we get a great example of
The Strategic Role of Prayer in Missions
00:04:40
Speaker
that. And we've talked about this passage last season, Luke 10, where Jesus calls out the
00:04:49
Speaker
his disciples to go out and prayer is so much a part of that. He sends out, he chooses 72 disciples and he sends them ahead. And then he tells them the harvest is great, but the workers are few. And he says, pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest. Ask him to send more workers into the fields. Now go and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.
00:05:14
Speaker
Don't take any money with you, nor a traveler's bag, nor an extra pair of sandals, and don't stop to greet anyone on the road. So prayer is what Jesus is exemplifying for us that we need to start this whole process with. Yeah, Jesus gives us a great example of praying for more laborers,
00:05:40
Speaker
But then too, even as I mentioned, like for protection, he says, I'm sending you out as lambs among wolves. And then I just really love how Luke, you know, I, my mind really connects with Luke, Luke, the historian, Luke, the doctor. I love reading the book of Luke because it's in my opinion, the most chronologically preserved passage where it's still theological, but like John is very not chronological. But if we think about Luke four through seven,
00:06:10
Speaker
Jesus is doing all of the work. He's modeling, but one of the things he models is he takes time away from ministry to pray and he's modeling the importance of prayer. Luke chapter 8 is basically Jesus' teaching for the 12 before he sends them out in Luke chapter 9. Luke chapter 9, he sends out the 12 with similar instructions.
00:06:33
Speaker
And then we know that the 12 have reached people because now there's 72 others. So it's a total of 84 people that Jesus is sending out and he's saying, pray for more laborers. So we're seeing the gospel go out, but at its foundation is prayer, but not just prayer, prayer and proclamation.
00:06:56
Speaker
And with the proclamation, we've discussed that there are different strategies. Well, with prayer, there's different strategies that you want to consider as you're praying for
00:07:08
Speaker
the work that you're being called to, the work that the Lord's called you to.
Connecting with Diaspora through Prayer Strategies
00:07:12
Speaker
And one of those key strategies is praying for divine connections and for God to give us those opportunities with people and to be keeping our eyes open to the Spirit leading to those opportunities that He gives us. Yeah, that's a great place to start. So if you remember the process, we're starting with prayer, calling, sending, but then the next thing is connecting with people.
00:07:36
Speaker
So we're praying for God to connect us with people He has prepared. Do you have an example of someone in the scripture praying for a divine connection?
00:07:47
Speaker
Well, Colossians 4, Paul tells us he reminds us of this strategy. He talks about devoting ourselves to prayer and being alert in mind and thankful in heart. And he tells us, he's saying, God, give us many opportunities to speak about this mysterious plan concerning Christ.
00:08:08
Speaker
So Paul gives us that example of praying for divine connections. And I mean, it's through praying for those divine connections that we're also going to be praying for those various languages and cultures and religious backgrounds that we're going to come across. Yeah, so you're saying
00:08:28
Speaker
We start with prayer. We're praying for opportunities to speak is what Paul said, but we're praying for those divine connections.
Clarity in Gospel Proclamation via Prayer
00:08:36
Speaker
We're praying for opportunities that the Lord is giving us because we're asking the Lord to give them to us. But then Paul also says in Colossians 4, he says, pray that I will proclaim the message as clearly as I should. So then we're praying and fasting. So even thinking about, uh,
00:08:52
Speaker
Acts 13 prayer and fasting actually gives us more workers. We see Jesus telling us to pray for more workers in the church in Antioch. They're praying and fasting. What does the Holy Spirit do? He sets apart Paul and Barnabas. Then they're going and then Paul is teaching us now pray for opportunities, divine connections. And then he's saying pray
00:09:14
Speaker
that I will proclaim the message as clearly as I should. So like there is this part of us where God is going to give us the words to say. So Rebecca, how do we pray into, maybe I could phrase it like evangelistic effectiveness, knowing that the effectiveness depends on the Lord, but it seems like Paul is saying there is a way to do it clearly and there's a way to do it unclearly and we should pray to do it clearly.
00:09:46
Speaker
I think that one of the keys in that is devoting ourselves to prayer. And as I think about what that word devote, it means making it top priority again and not secondary, but it's also, it's something that we're doing on a continuous basis. You know, in first Thessalonians five, it talks about praying without ceasing. So we're praying constantly and over and over. And again, that goes back to the relationship aspect.
00:10:18
Speaker
Yeah, in Luke 10, you know, lambs among wolves, you kind of have this idea of also protection, but definitely spiritual breakthrough. And as we're thinking about like diaspora communities, people from Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jewish, occult, you know, backgrounds, you know, there are unique strongholds in their life.
Overcoming Barriers with Strategic Prayer
00:10:41
Speaker
There are unique lies that the enemy has told them.
00:10:45
Speaker
And so part of our prayer strategy is for spiritual breakthroughs, but they can be very focused because the issues that individual people and individual religious groups face are strong. So like just one example that I have started praying for specifically is that Muslims would stop believing the Bible is corrupt. And that that is a specific stronghold that's in
00:11:13
Speaker
the muslim community and what i believe is if they would believe the bible is true from what i would i would say the koran says the bible is true from uh that sense if they would believe that then that is a stronghold that falls down and then it's like dominoes so even learning about your people group what they believe their religion doing the research will help inform you to pray strategically for those spiritual breakthroughs
00:11:40
Speaker
Right. But I mean, I think about even going into a Hindu temple or even a Buddhist talking to a Buddhist, their thoughts and their their ways that they do things are so very different from, you know, anything that I know and can comprehend. So it's very important for me to be praying through those pieces as I'm
00:11:59
Speaker
you know, learning about them and getting to know them. I have a friend that's been talking to a Mormon, you know, and she's afraid of the Mormon convincing her against Christ. Well, I mean, we need to start all of those kind of conversations with prayer. Yeah, prayer is such a foundational piece in preparation and calling and sending and connecting and proclaiming
00:12:28
Speaker
And then in proclaiming we're praying against spiritual strongholds, we're praying for breakthroughs, but then even how do you think prayer is a part of discipleship? What is the role of prayer in discipleship? And what I'm thinking, Rebecca, is
00:12:57
Speaker
Oftentimes our view of discipleship is a curriculum. And I've not experienced very many times someone more mature than me in the faith, especially when I was a new believer, saying, why don't you come pray with me? And modeling prayer, and even earlier I mentioned Jesus modeled prayer. Like prayer transcends the entire apostolic task. Like prayer is involved in every aspect.
00:13:24
Speaker
Some of the resources you know, Rebecca, what are some resources? Because when we start passing this on to someone else, right? Because that's what discipleship is, is we're passing on what we've received, what like Paul says in 2 Timothy, what I entrusted to you and trust the faithful men who will teach others. Sometimes we need something that's reproducible or a resource to pass on and use. Maybe now would be a good time to share some of those resources that I know you have really been able to embrace and use.
00:13:54
Speaker
Well, one of the things is even talking about this strategy piece. I love prayerstrategist.net. It has a whole top of discovery, Bible study of going through the various strategies of prayer. I think on that site, it lists 19 different strategies to think through with prayer.
00:14:15
Speaker
So again, prayerstrategists
Resources for Prayer Strategies
00:14:17
Speaker
.net and doing a discovery Bible study on each of those prayer strategies and being led by the spirit as you learn about prayer. So that's one piece. Another, another thing that I love is I love having different aspects of prayer, different ways that we can be praying. I love watching a prayer cast videos of prayercast.com has videos that you can watch.
00:14:41
Speaker
And as you watch those videos and see people's faces and see what things are happening in the world, you tend to pray more effectively. I love involving our senses in prayer. Listening to worship music helps me to pray and pray for the nations.
00:15:02
Speaker
So there are lots of different resources, but I know there's one resource, Bud, that we're real involved in. Can you tell me a little bit about that resource?
Virtual Prayer Walks for the Unreached
00:15:12
Speaker
Yeah, that's upgnorthamerica.com and the virtual prayer walks where you can go to an unreached people group community in a city in North America and see the places that they frequent, their places of worship, their markets, their restaurants, where they get their hair cut perhaps,
00:15:31
Speaker
and then you're able with Google Street View to see those places. But then images on Google you can see, so that actually lets you see the faces. So I like to say you're praying with insight by seeing the places and faces that these people frequent.
00:15:48
Speaker
and trusting that you can pray for some things we've already shared. Pray that the Lord would send more workers. Luke 10.2. You could even set your alarm on your phone to go off at 10.02. My alarm goes off at 10.02 to pray for more workers among the unreached. You can pray that Christians in the area would have divine appointments with that people group in those places.
00:16:16
Speaker
And then third, you can pray that as they begin to proclaim, even just think of what we've talked about, as they begin to proclaim the gospel, that they will do it in a clear way. And then ultimately, I always pray that that the kingdom of God would come among this people in this place to the glory of Jesus. Like, because that is the envision. We want to be praying towards envision, but knowing there's ways to strategically pray along the way.
00:16:44
Speaker
And then another great resource has a lot of these resources we've already mentioned. Justin Long with Beyond has a whole list of different prayer books and prayer ways to be praying for specific peoples and just a whole bunch of prayer resources. So that's another great place to get some different ideas and thoughts.
00:17:11
Speaker
But just not just praying on our own. Another great part in a practical way that we can be praying is we can form prayer networks.
Forming Prayer Networks for Support
00:17:22
Speaker
But are you a part of any prayer networks? Yeah, actually, I started a prayer network in my city for a specific people group.
00:17:32
Speaker
And so we have like a WhatsApp group. You can have like a signal group where we are putting prayer requests into that. It's a group of people who have committed to pray for these people. And then a few times a year we get together and we have a prayer gathering. We'll actually have believers from that people group come to that and pray with us and share testimonies. It's a time of worship. But what it does is it creates some community around prayer.
00:18:00
Speaker
You know, honestly, at a lot of churches today, there's not community around prayer. And just because our church doesn't have it, doesn't mean it shouldn't exist. Sometimes we can actually start something inside of our church for that purpose of praying for unreached people groups or a specific people group. Or it can be a collaboration of multiple churches, like a city church gathering, where you have people from a dozen churches who are committing to pray.
00:18:29
Speaker
There's several other prayer networks that I'm a part of, but that's one very, very close to me. And I actually have a prayer gathering on Saturday, so it's on the front of the front of my mind. Well, and I think you've reminded us to the importance of that community prayer. And I just think back of what I've
00:18:48
Speaker
I've seen in the past happen when communities do come together and pray. That's what we're talking about, that extraordinary prayer. We really can have testimony, a testimony about people getting more involved in the apostolic work, the harvest field, coming to know Christ. There's so many ways that I've seen just because of people coming together in a community to pray as a church.
00:19:16
Speaker
Yeah, thinking about the community of prayer, again, my mind always goes back to the process.
Prayer in Church and Leadership Development
00:19:22
Speaker
Calling and sending, connecting with people, sharing the gospel, discipleship, but then even thinking about the role of prayer in the church and leadership development. In Acts 2, 42, it says that they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the prayer, to the fellowship, and the breaking of bread. Prayer is part of the lifeblood of the church.
00:19:46
Speaker
And then in leadership development in the last episode, we talked about how through prayer and fasting, Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in the churches they had planted. So prayer transcends every aspect of this. And I just feel like I can't say that enough. It's not just one part. It's in every part. And if your strategy doesn't have prayer in every part, I would submit to you that you're lacking
00:20:16
Speaker
prayer in that. Our friend David Garrison, in his book, Church Planting Movements, basically discovered, researched 10 universal elements of church planting movements that he looked into, and one of those was extraordinary prayer. And so if we want to get to that point, not saying, you know, Dr. Garrison wasn't writing a book and saying, this is how you start church planting movements, he just said,
00:20:43
Speaker
Out of the church planning movements I've observed, these are the things that are always there. You can't get beyond extraordinary prayer.
00:20:52
Speaker
Yes, and I think we've talked about how it's got to be interspersed into every aspect of what we're doing. But I want to mention one other aspect of prayer that we can sometimes forget. It's very important that we spend time talking to the Lord, but it's also very important that we spend time listening to the Lord. So we want to remember that in
00:21:17
Speaker
that strategy part of prayer is that we want to have that time where we're listening together as a community about where God is leading and what he's wanting us to do.
Mobilizing Prayer in Ministry Contexts
00:21:30
Speaker
Yeah, that is a very overlooked, I think, and I always blame it on the West, on the United States, on North America,
00:21:40
Speaker
And so don't hear that I dislike the church in North America. It's just when I look at the Bible and I look at our current situation, I see a gap. And my only exposure to the church, you know, I've been in churches in Muslim background countries. I don't see it as much there, but this gap in prayer, community-based prayer, communal prayer,
00:22:10
Speaker
There are churches that will actually make fun of you for advocating for corporate prayer. I have experienced that. And so I just want to say a word of encouragement to you, like if this is so appealing to you, this idea of mobilizing prayer, having prayer teams, having prayer in every aspect of your ministry and you're in a situation where it doesn't exist,
00:22:40
Speaker
We wanna list these resources for you so that you can be the leader to start that. If you want to see a movement of God, start of movement of prayer. I don't believe that that is a statement where it means like, if we do this, God must do this. But I truly believe that when we align ourselves with the Father's heart in prayer, and as we start to listen, not do,
00:23:08
Speaker
But listen back to Rebecca's point, listening prayer, then we know what to do. And then we're joining the Lord where he's at work and we begin to see traction in a way that we've not seen traction before. So we want to encourage you to serve with us among the diaspora communities and prioritize prayer.
Outreach to Haredi Jewish Communities
00:23:32
Speaker
Thank you for joining us for this second episode of Let's Talk Diaspora season two.
00:23:40
Speaker
Haradi Jews are some of the most unreached people in the world. But God is moving in this community and we sense that the time has arrived to increase our efforts to reach them with the good news. The key to this outreach is prayer. We invite you to journey with us into the world of the Haradium.
00:23:56
Speaker
and to meet Haradi men and women as well as the believers who serve them and to join us in the critical work of prayerful intercession. Start learning and praying with us today with a free digital download or you can request a free copy at upgnorthamerica.com forward slash resources.