Incredible Stories of God’s People Asking Him to Move
When was the last time you asked something of God with the faith-fueled expectation that he would do it?
For many believers, praying too specifically can feel arrogant and selfish. Or worse, we don’t really believe God is powerful enough to do what we ask. To many of us, having a tiny mustard seed of faith is already a stretch; we can’t imagine God will grow it any bigger, much less produce fruit!
If you find yourself needing reminders of God’s faithfulness, take a few moments to read these stories that reveal how the Lord shows up when we pray.
Two Sisters Unite as Prayer Leaders
Cynthia and her husband attended an illumiNations gathering almost a decade ago, and the conviction she felt has never left.
“It was very humbling to realize that we have still not finished the task,” Cynthia told us, referring to the Great Commission. Even after thousands of years, the gospel still hasn’t reached the ends of the earth. Cynthia, unsettled by the thought, contacted her sister, Diane.
Quickly, the sisters and their husbands began investing financially in Bible translation. Then they started jumping into the weekly Seed Company prayer calls. Their journey from prayer padawans to prayer warriors had begun.
Despite living far apart, with Cynthia in California and Diane in Missouri, the two have grown even closer since their commitment to praying with Seed Company. Says Diane, “Having that common bond continues to knit your hearts at a spiritual level.”
In addition, the two have grown in their global focus. Even the way they watch the news has shifted. Now, each story of international disaster or questionable foreign policy is an opportunity to intercede on behalf of believers all around the globe. “We’re at a pivotal time in world history, and I don’t want to miss the chance to be a part of it,” Cynthia told us.
And in that, they’ve wasted no time! Currently, Cynthia and Diane lead a weekly prayer meeting through the Unceasing Prayer (UP) initiative.
“We’ll never be missionaries or evangelists,” Cynthia says, “but we’ll meet people who are there at the throne of grace and say, ‘You’re the ones we were praying for!’”
What Is Unceasing Prayer?
Unceasing Prayer (UP) is a way for people all over the world to meet together—digitally, of course—to create an unbreaking chain of 24/7 prayer.
Imagine the small church on the corner that probably exists in your hometown. In its fellowship hall, faithful believers gather regularly to pray for the pastor, for one another, for the work God is doing in the world.
Now, that fellowship hall is a Zoom meeting with a global focus.
For UP partners, the process starts when they examine their schedule to find a meeting they can attend. They fill out a form to request access to that specific meeting, receive the Zoom link and password, and then—boom!—they jump into the prayer meeting as it’s happening, from wherever they are.
Similarly, prayer leaders can reserve an empty spot on the interactive schedule when they feel led to facilitate a prayer meeting.
Time in UP rooms is centered on praise and worship, and of course, prayer—asking God to bless the efforts of Bible translation teams all over the world. The UP website provides leaders with resources like real-time prayer requests so they are prepared to lead participants through a meaningful time of intentional intercession.
The Power of Prayer
We’ve also launched PrayForZero.com this year, a website devoted to educating, equipping, and uniting the international church to pursue prayer.
Through the consistent intercession of faithful brothers and sisters, we’ve seen incredible answers to prayer, answers like:
- A Muslim imam in Asia ordering 200 copies of the Chawma New Testament for a mosque
- A woman in Kenya giving her life to Christ because of literacy classes that helped her experience God’s Word for herself
- Believers in Tanzania being re-invigorated in faith through access to praise songs in their heart language of Gitemi (instead of in Swahili, the national language)
- A new church planted in Asia when a translation team leader brought God’s Word in Willin to a small village that previously had no access to Scripture in their own language
Looking to the Future
We pray this post has inspired you! If it has, join us in asking God to:
- Raise up more prayer warriors—an army of 1 million or more—to pray proactively and unceasingly for Bible translation.
- Remove obstacles to those directly involved with translating the Bible.
- Protect translation teams in areas hostile to Christianity.
- Move people to invest financially in the mission of Bible translation.
- Continue transforming the lives of those who gain access to the gospel because of ongoing Bible translation efforts.
- Guide us in giving every people group access to his Word in their heart language.
The more people we can involve in Bible translation through prayer, giving, and advocacy, the sooner we can share God’s Word with a waiting world.
Cynthia said it best: “The two things that remain are the Word of God and the souls of men. So, what will you put your time and treasure into?”
