Prayer: The Most Important Thing You Can Do

Hello, friends, and welcome back to Nations 4 Jesus.

Today, I want to talk about what I believe is the most important thing you can do right now in obeying the Great Commission. It's not complicated. You don't have to leave your home. You don't have to spend money. You don't have to make any huge sacrifices—except some time.

The answer? Prayer.

Just pray!

The Bible is very clear that prayer changes things. Jesus—God in the flesh—prayed. Think about that for a moment. If Jesus, who had only three years on earth to accomplish everything He came to do, took time out of His incredibly busy schedule to pray, then He obviously wants us to pray frequently.

Listen to these examples: Luke 6:12 tells us Jesus spent the whole night praying to God before choosing His disciples. 

Matthew 14:23 says He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray. 

Luke 3:21 and 9:28-29 describe Him praying at His baptism and on the mountain of transfiguration. 

And Matthew 26:36-45 shows us Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion.

If Jesus prayed that much, how much more should we?

So here's my question: Why is prayer so often seen as the last resort rather than the first response? Why would we rather take some sort of action to fix a problem rather than go to God first?

I believe one of the main reasons is that we often don't truly believe that prayer will make any difference.

That fatalistic view of prayer often comes from our ultimate view of God. Let me ask you some questions:

Do we truly believe the words of the Bible? 

Do we believe that He is concerned and involved in every aspect of our own lives and the lives of the lost? 

Do we believe He has a plan for this world? 

Do we believe He is still in control, despite the things we see around us that would tell us otherwise?

Friends, it really comes down to one essential decision that Adam and Eve were asked to make in the Garden, and that we are asked to make every day in our own lives: Do we believe the truth of God, as shown to us in the Bible, or the lies of Satan?

Because for every truth of God, Satan counterfeits that with his own lie.

Many people, including many Christians, look at the world around them—even at their own lives—and take on a fatalistic view. They think nothing can change. The lies of Satan seem too powerful, too persuasive. They quietly accept the way things are, the status quo.

Yet, the status quo in our world today is not how God first created our earth or how He desires it to be functioning today. God's perfect way does not include war, killing, divorce, abortion, abuse, or slavery. Although He allows it, in His sovereignty, to ultimately accomplish His good purposes…while He was on earth, and today through the Holy Spirit, He battles evil and asks us to join Him.

Jesus shares a powerful story in Luke 18:1-8 about a widow who was seeking justice. She continued to persistently ask the judge for justice, until finally he gave her what she asked.

Jesus shared this story to show that we, as His disciples, "should always pray and not give up" (Luke 18:1). This type of praying is called petitionary prayer.

Let me share with you one of my favorite descriptions of petitionary prayer. Theologian David Wells wrote:

"Petitionary prayer is rebellion—rebellion against the status quo, the state of the world in its sin and fallenness. It is the absolute and undying refusal to accept as normal what is completely abnormal. It is the rejection of every agenda, every scheme, every opinion that clashes with God... a declaration that Evil is not a variation on Good but its very opposite."

Did you hear that? Prayer is rebellion! It's refusing to accept evil as normal!

Petitionary prayer is prayer that:

1. Believes that God does not want the current evil status quo to continue on earth
2. Believes that God can change things for the better through His power
3. Believes God will change things in response to the prayers of His people

Now, let me be clear: Prayer is not magic. It doesn't always work the way we expect. It's not something we do in our own strength, but a response to what God is already doing within us and in the world.

As Walter Wink wrote, "Our prayers are the necessary opening that allows God to act without violating our freedom. Prayer is the ultimate act of partnership with God."

It's recognizing that God is in control, He is acting, He will be faithful to our prayers, and He is asking us to join Him through prayer.

Let me share something beautiful I experienced while we were living in Seoul, South Korea. We attended Jubilee Church, and Pastor David did something I had never seen in a church before or since.

After he finished his sermon each Sunday, he would ask that we pray as a congregation about what we had just heard. He would pick out four or five main points from the sermon. For each point, he would first pray about it, and then he would have us—out loud—pray and talk to God about how we would have Him work in our lives and in the lives of others.

This would go on for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Friends, I cannot tell you how thrilling it was to stand amongst my brothers and sisters in Christ as we were all verbally, and at the same time, pouring out our hearts to the Lord! I believe it pleased the Lord greatly. And His blessings and use of Jubilee Church are very evident.

Pastor David ensured that prayer was not just something done quickly at the beginning and end of the service, as a sort of duty, but that it was an essential part of our time together. And I could almost see the smile on the face of God when He heard our times of prayer.

Prayer is especially significant for missions because in mission work, we come up against so much of the evil status quo and the fatalistic views of so many cultures.

Satan desires that Christians—whether in missions or in mission support—will doubt God's power to change. He doesn't want us to beseech the God of the Universe to bring unreached people groups to Himself because Satan will continue to lose ground.

Satan wants us to think that the situation is hopeless, that the people are a lost cause, that God doesn't care about them.

But friends, this is a battle for every soul! We must engage in petitionary prayer on behalf of the lost and in our own lives.

We must ask ourselves this question: "Do we really think God would fail to bring about justice for His chosen ones who cry to Him night and day? Will He keep putting them off?"

Jesus answered it for us in Luke 18:7-8: "I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly."

So, what do we do? How do we go beyond a quick "bless the people in China and bring all the lost to You" into true spiritual warfare on behalf of the lost?

Well, God has provided a wealth of resources! Let me share some of my favorites with you.

Here are websites that I highly recommend for your daily prayer time:

Operation World (operationworld.org) - This incredible resource leads you in prayer for a different country every day. Not only will you pray very specific prayers for that country, but you'll also learn a lot about different nations in the process. They also have a mobile app and you can sign up for daily emails.

Unreached of the Day (unreachedoftheday.org) - Through Joshua Project, this resource helps you pray for a different unreached people group each day. They have a mobile app, daily podcast, and email subscription. It's a fantastic way to keep unreached peoples in front of you every single day.

Voice of the Martyrs (persecution.com) - This ministry focuses on the persecuted church. They have a Global Prayer Guide covering 68 countries where Christians face persecution, and they send out prayer updates to help you pray for and fellowship with persecuted Christians around the world. You can also sign up for their free 2026 Prayer Calendar and monthly magazine.

Open Doors (https://www.opendoorsus.org/en-US/) - This ministry also focuses on the persecuted church. They come out with the World Watch List which shows the 50 most persecuted nations in the world each year and provides numerous resources to pray for them.

If you look at the description of this podcast, you will see that I have listed each of these resources. 

Friends, prayer is effective and so very necessary. It moves the hand of God!

Listen to what Paul says in Colossians 4:3-4: "And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should."

And Jesus Himself said in Matthew 9:36-38: "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'"

So here's my challenge to you: Pick just one or two of these resources. Start small. Commit to praying for the nations for just 5-10 minutes a day.

Use Operation World to pray for a different country each day. Use Unreached of the Day to pray for a specific people group. Use Voice of the Martyrs or Open Doors to pray for the persecuted church.

As you pray, watch what God does in your heart. Watch how He breaks your heart for what breaks His. Watch how He grows your passion for the lost. Watch how He uses your prayers to move mountains you can't even see.

Because prayer is rebellion against the status quo. Prayer is partnership with God. Prayer is the most important thing you can do right now to obey the Great Commission.

Heavenly Father, You are sovereign and good! We don’t accept the lie that prayer doesn't work. We don't believe that nothing can change. We won't surrender to fatalism. Instead, Lord, we join Jesus in the battle through prayer. We cry out toYou for the lost. We intercede for the unreached. We will stand in the gap for the persecuted. Thank you for showing us through Your Word and Your Holy Spirit that our prayers matter. They change things. They move Your hand oh God. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Thank you for joining me today. I pray this has inspired you to become a warrior in prayer for the nations. Until next time, keep your eyes on the nations... and never stop praying.

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