This guest post is by Curtis Alan. Curt is the Missions Pastor here at the Summit.
“God bless the missionaries…” Does this summarize your prayers for the mission of God? Do you struggle to find the words to ask for the nations?
Or, do you find yourself unable to pray for our world at all? Overwhelmed by graphic videos of mass executions and atrocities in the Middle East, terrorist attacks in both hemispheres, and growing tensions towards war in Eastern Europe, do tears and gasps of horror come more readily than words?
The Apostle Paul experienced this, too. “The Spirit helps us in our weakness,” he said. “For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Rom 8:26). As Paul struggled for the words to pray, he had the same power we have: the Holy Spirit inside him. And the Spirit prays in perfect accordance with the will of God. We are never alone and he is never at a loss for words.
In the midst of chaos, when the brokenness of this world overwhelms us; when we cry out to the Lord for peace, justice, mercy, and healing; when we can only cry—we run to Christ and seek comfort in his promises:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
~Romans 8: 35-39
So we cling to the hope that Christ alone provides, we dwell in the promises found in Scripture, we strive to find the words to pray, and we know that the Holy Spirit prays beside us.
Summit, we cannot afford to not pray. We simply can’t be silent. From within this body of Christ, we’ve sent out hundreds to plant their lives in difficult places, in order to proclaim the gospel, raise up and train indigenous leaders, and to plant Christ’s church where it doesn’t yet exist. We’re compelled to do this because we believe that this message of hope is our world’s only hope. The rest of us can’t be silent.
Still not sure where to start? Need a practical tool to give you some pointers? We’re here for you: our missions team has put together a group on The City entitled “Pray for Our World.” Even if you know nothing about the nations, they’ll guide you so you can start to pray.
What I find most exciting about “Pray for Our World” is that these prayers are guided by reports from some of our own Summit missionaries laboring in countries around the world. So you won’t just be praying for “the missionaries.” You’ll be praying for your missionaries, those sent out from our Summit campuses.
Are you willing to link arms with our brothers and sisters from around the globe to ask God to bring himself the glory he deserves? Then join us as we pray for our world.
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
~Romans 12: 12
