Prayer DOES Make a Difference

“Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the muscle of omnipotence.” ― Charles H. Spurgeon

How do we actively participate in taking the gospel to all nations?

As I journeyed through the Perspective on the World Christian Movement course, the Great Commission Jesus gave His disciples came into focus. Their mission was also my mission. If I was to be part of taking the gospel to all nations, what would that look like?

The task remaining also came into focus.

The sheer number of people who have never had the opportunity to hear the gospel overwhelmed me. Of the more than 17,000 people groups in the world, 7,415 are identified as unreached using Joshua Project criteria, which translates to over 3 billion individuals! Forty percent of the world’s population!

What could I do that would make a dent in this?

I might not be able to go, but I could pray.

I believed prayer makes a difference but was not certain my prayers would really affect the course of nations and people groups.

Nevertheless, I accepted the challenge to “Adopt a People Group,” and began praying for Tibet. Each year I asked the Lord what people group or nation he wanted me to focus on, and I prayed, trusting God was at work because He is faithful, but not having much tangible evidence.

A few years into this venture I met a friend on the same journey, and it’s her story I would like to share.

Praying for Bhutan

Sue had also been challenged in the Perspectives course to pray for the unreached and had invited her church to join her in adopting the country of Bhutan. Under the Buddhist monarchy, the government policies to keep Bhutan isolated, and the stronghold of Vajrayana Buddhism resulted in Bhutan being one of the world’s least-evangelized nations. 

As her church focused prayers on Bhutan, they began to see God moving.

Sue, a board member of a radio ministry focused on the unreached of India, was invited to travel to India to visit the program producer, who lived in northeastern India near the border of Bhutan. During her visit, she met a Christian Nepali, Dawa, who had formerly lived in Bhutan. Bhutan, in its quest to preserve its unique national identity, had expelled tens of thousands of Nepali-Bhutanese a few years prior. Many fled across the border to India.

Several months later Sue and her husband Jerry were visited by a representative of Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU). As they chatted, Sue asked whether the Jesus film was translated into Bhutanese.

“Unfortunately, not,” the rep replied. “A population of under 1 million is too small to justify the kind of investment it would take.”

“How much are we talking about?” asked Jerry.

“$25,000. We also don’t know of any Bhutanese speaking Christians to dub the film,” responded the rep. 

“What if you had the money and the Bhutanese language speakers?” asked Sue.

Over the following year, Sue connected the Jesus film crew with Dawa, whose family and friends provided the voices for the film. Sue and Jerry’s church funded the project, and Dawa’s family became the team taking the Jesus film back into the country that had expelled them.

The story is still unfolding.

I no longer have doubts that the simple prayers of one person asking God to somehow move the mountains standing in the way of the gospel reaching an unreached people will accomplish the seemingly impossible.

It is never just one person’s prayers.

One person’s prayers are joined with a cluster of others and added to those of God’s people around the world, all yearning together to see the people of Bhutan discover the God who loves them and gave himself for them.

God’s answer to the fervent, faithful prayer of His people will be fully recognized when, one day, we will stand together around the throne of God, brothers and sisters from all nations, tongues, and tribes declaring, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” (Rev 7:9-10)

For resources on Least Reached People prayer, visit our Dig Deeper page, and click on "Bottom Line Prayer".

Carol Moerman serves on the Simply Mobilizing National Coordination Team as the BC Coordinator for the Kairos Course. She also serves on the Global Church Planting Network Facilitation Team, helping with prayer mobilization, communication and event coordination. If Carol had a free afternoon, you would likely find her tending her garden or playing with one of her grandchildren.