There is a guy in Memphis named Soup Campbell, a discipler of many, who says something worth keeping in mind: If God answered all our prayers, not much would happen in the world.
He might have a point. When we pray (particularly in our devotions and prayer meetings) we intercede for ourselves and our friends for this or that situation, this or that health problem. If God answered every bit of it, it would be great, but how much would be eternally discernible in the scope of time and eternity?
In Acts 1:8 Jesus was speaking before His ascension and told the gathered that they would soon “receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
I have wondered if any of those disciples’ minds went to Psalm 67 in that very moment…
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
2 that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!6 The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him! (ESV)
To the church at Rome Paul could write within thirty years of Pentecost:
“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world” (Rom. 1:8)
And again, in the Colossians letter from prison: “The gospel…is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as it doth in you also, since the day ye heard and knew the grace of God in truth” (Col. 1:5b, 6)
Justin Martyr (100?-165?) “There is not a single race of human beings, barbarians, Greeks, or whatever name you please to call them, nomads or vagrants or herdsmen living in tents, where prayers in the name of Jesus the crucified are not offered up. Through all the members of the body is the soul spread; so are Christians throughout the cities of the world.”
Tertullian (160-230) We are but of yesterday. Yet we have filled all the places you frequent – cities, lodging houses, villages, townships, markets, the camp itself, the tribes, town councils, the palace, the senate, and the forum. All we have left you is your temples….Behold, every corner of the universe has experienced the gospel, and the whole ends and bounds of the world are occupied with the gospel.
Lactantius (contemporary of Paul): “Nero noticed that not only at Rome but everywhere a large multitude were daily falling away from idolatry and coming over to the new religion.” (above quotes taken from Harnack, The Mission and Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries)
How to take the “world/nations” seriously:
Pray Barth-style - Karl Barth, the famous theologian, was attributed with saying that believers should take both the Bible and the newspaper seriously (albeit, he made it clear, the latter should be judged by the former). I like this for prayer purposes – the newspaper (or however you access news) should be more than information-gathering but a resource for flash prayers. Local, national and international news should be fodder for such regular intercession.
Use Operation World - Operation World is a great book and website that takes one nation per day and teaches substantially about them and how to pray intelligently for them. Check the website out here: https://operationworld.org/
Compassionate Children – our church supports several children through our denomination for basic nutritional and spiritual needs. I personally try to pray for each of these kids daily and for God to work in their nation for Great Commission purposes.
Church liaison – offer to be the church liaison for mission efforts and international concerns. Every week this person supplies the name of the compassionate ministry child just mentioned and a missionary on the field with a brief bio and concerns for their nation. The same person finds ways our children can stay in touch with the compassionate ministry kids and accentuates other activities for the church missionally.
Go – your local church should always be praying and encouraging the membership to listen for the Lord’s call to go to one of these nations. Churches that keep this message in front of their people across several years typically have far more people hearing from God on missions than churches that rarely say anything about it.
Also – ask the Lord who in your “world” of local influence does He want you to activate to have a compassionate ministry with or some evangelistic influence. Praying is wonderful, of course, but it is no substitute for action and the Lord wants us all to be people that do the will of the Lord among the “nations” whether near, or far away. I love the Justin Martyr quote above signifying where the influence of Jesus was being felt early in the second century - cities, lodging houses, villages, townships, markets, the camp itself, the tribes, town councils, the palace, the senate, and the forum...Behold, every corner of the universe.
Do it again Lord. And use us!