Blog 39 / Our High Calling
August 26, 2021
Prayer and the Bride
“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.” Rev 19:7 NIV
When the dust of this age has settled; when every battle is over, when this present creation has burned up, and Satan is finally vanquished, the final result of the ages will be a spotless and radiant bride for the Son of God. This bride, who is making herself ready, will be made up of the redeemed from every tribe, language and nation. This is the glorious end God has had in view from the beginning.
God is at work today among the nations seeking out those who know nothing of their glorious destiny. And we are workers with Him in making Jesus known. This Great Commission is not an end in itself. It is but an essential step in making disciples who will populate the Heavenly bride. Prayer plays an essential role too. The history of the Church supports the conclusion that when people come to Christ, someone somewhere was praying for them.
Over two hundred years ago, a shoemaker in England named William Carey put a hand-drawn map of the world above his workbench. As he worked he prayed for people all around the globe. Carey later went to India and translated the Bible into many languages. Today, he is widely known as the father of modern missions. Not so well known was the role of his bedridden sister. She and Carey were very close and he often wrote to her about his work and struggles. Her prayers for him were a key factor in many coming to Christ through his work.
More recently, a GRN field worker home from Russia was telling our staff about the Yakut, a people group of Siberia that not long ago were unevangelized. Through the witness of GRN and others many Yakut had become believers. Upon hearing this, a staff member spoke up and said that the church she and her husband once attended in L.A. had prayed regularly for the Yakut seventeen years ago. They had never heard if their prayers were answered. Until now. This is another example of the link that exists between prayer and people coming to Christ.
With much of the world still without Christ, the Church needs to ramp up her intercession for the lost. More workers need to be prayed into the harvest. Missionaries need prayer to persevere and be faithful. Forces hostile to the gospel need to be subdued through prayer and spiritual awakening sought for countries gripped by false religions. All this so Christ would soon be adored and honored by those still bowing the knee to the enemy.
May each of us personally step up and pray for world evangelization as Carey’s sister and the small church prayer group did. With God’s glory among the nations at stake, let’s go forward on our knees to possess for the Lamb those missing members of our Lord’s bride – our future brothers and sisters in Christ!
Colin Stott
GRN Global Prayer Coordinator
