Praying is Crucial in Obeying the Great Commission

As we seek to spread the gospel of Christ, we must remember that God did not intend for us to do it alone. We are to be “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18). We receive our strength from the Lord; therefore, our first task is to pray. Ask “the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:38). Then pray that God will open doors of opportunity to His laborers and give them boldness (Ephesians 6:19). As we support mission work in prayer, we begin to participate in missions to the world.

Praise the Lord that He hears our prayers: “I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your namefor ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works” (Psalm 145:1-5).

Now pray this confession to the Lord to keep your life free from sin and in fellowship with Him: “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”— and you forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalm 32:5).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. As you agree with God’s will, voice your affirmation of His Word: “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (personalized from John 14:21).

As you make your requests known to God, include:

• Patience during testing,
• A forgiving spirit,
• A stronger desire to lead others to Christ.

Close in prayer now, meditating on these words of Christ: “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his lifewill lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:34-35).

“And pray in the Spiriton all occasionswith all kinds of prayers and requests.With this in mind, be alert and always keep on prayingfor all the saints.

^“Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Ephesians 6:18-20).