There is a great deal of discus-sion related to accomplishing thetask of the Great Commission. Vol-umes have been written describingstrategies for evangelism, disciple-ship, and church planting—Whattechniques do we use? How do westart? Who do we look for? What ele-ments need to be in place in orderfor church planting to occur? Whatapproach do we use for discipleshipand training? How much will it cost?The list is seemingly endless.

As important and necessary asthese and other questions are, let’sput all of them aside and simplyfocus on one—What could beaccomplished if a billion peoplewere praying?

The focus of SOW Interna-tional is providing God’s Wordto the nations. There are fivereasons prayer is essential forthis: (1) it keeps usinvolved on a personallevel with what God isdoing in the world, (2)it gives us a sense forGod’s heart and howwe fit into His plan togather worshippersfrom the ends of the

earth (and we all have a role to play inthis), (3) it provides a veil of neededprotection over God’s servants whoare blazing new trails in the mostspiritually dark regions of the world,(4) it helps break down spiritualstrongholds, and (5) it helps facili-tate the spread of the gospelamong the unreached.

SOW’s Executive Direc-tor, Phil Disney, states, “Nomatter how eloquent ourwords, or dynamic ouractions, unless theyare bathed in

prayer and empowered by the HolySpirit, they cannot bring one humansoul into relationship with Christ.” Philcontinues by saying, “As important asgiving is to the cause of missions, it is alimited part of the process. Our gen-erosity of resources must be accompa-nied by generous praying.”

No amount of money, no amountof discussion, and no amount ofhuman effort can substitute forextraordinary and consistent prayer.

One Saturday afternoon inAugust, 1806, five teenageyoung men sought

Volume 1 • 2012

There are roughly one billion believers in the world.Imagine the results if all of God’s people took seriouslyJesus’ command to simply pray for the harvest.

What if a Billion PeopleWere Praying?

Continued on page 3

Prayer does not come natural tomost people—especially North Ameri-cans. The “Western” world view tells usthat we are “self-made” individuals—we can achieve anything so long as wegive it our best and implement theright methods. We have been pro-grammed to think that as long as weare efficient (using our time andresources wisely), and effective (going inthe right direction and staying focused),we will automatically achieve excel-lence. Isn’t that the American way?

For most, prayer is work. We find italmost offensive to depend on anyoneor anything outside of ourselves tosurvive… to accomplish… to sustain.There are the exceptions—those withwhom prayer is as natural as breath-ing. These individuals set the exampleand raise the bar for all of us. For theaverage person, however, prayer issomething we must make a continual

consciouseffort to

practice. That is not to say that therearen’t times when it is much easier topray than others. Usually when we’reunder extreme stress or facing a severecrisis, prayer becomes high on our lists.

Perhaps that’s the core of theissue. Perhaps the reason why prayeris on the back burner of our minds isthe fact that most of us live a relativelycomfortable life. Good health, goodincome, good kids, good schools,good church, good relationships,good friends, great wife, etc., etc. Evenin our most desperate times, Ameri-cans have a variety of safety nets toshare the load and help us survive.

Perhaps our lack of motivation isa result of the fact that our prayerstend to be self-centered and preven-tative rather than out of desperationand reliance. “Lord, be with my family,keep us safe, meet our needs, help me…be with…” and the old end-of-the-prayer tag line, “lead, guide, and directus.” I think prayer is difficult and lacksour motivation because we continuepraying for the same things and takefor granted the fact that God hasalready answered them.

The real problem may be thatsince most of our prayers are “me”focused, we make a huge assump-tion. We assume that because we’reO.K., everyone else is O.K too. Or,perhaps, we just don’t thinkbeyond or own context verymuch. What would happen if ourfocus was redirected from ourpersonal needs to the needs ofothers (and not necessarily thosewithin the borders of the U.S.)?

This last year, we saw anearthquake and tsunami in Japanwipe out thousands of people in a

Many believers have a strongdesire to become involved inGreat Commission causes. Toooften, however, the tendency is todiminish our involvement tofinances. As important as giving isto world evangelization, it mustbe accompanied by prayer.

With this in mind, SOW Inter-national is asking you to give yourtime and your sincere commit-ment to extraordinary prayer. Ourdesire is to provide the tools andthe information you need to helpyou pray strategically and fer-vently on behalf of the unreachedand Bibleless people.

SOW International is workingin regions of the world that havenever experienced the Word ofGod or the light of the Gospel.Like a farmer putting his plowblade into new ground—soil thathas never been worked—it takesmore time and effort to prepareit to yield a harvest. SOWalso faces an enemy whois not ready to give uphis territory. To enterSatan’s strongholdswithout the assur-ance of prayer, is tofight the enemy inhuman, ratherthan divinestrength.

Continued on page 4

Why our most powerful and effective resource forworld evangelism is severely under-utilizedPrayer is not peripheral

to missions. It does notsupport missions. Prayerismissions. The battlefor the nations will bewon on the knees ofGod’s people.

The Prayer Factor by Phil Disney

The Priorityof Prayer

matter of seconds. But did you knowthat annual monsoons and springflooding kills tens of thousands inSoutheast Asia every year? Would itmake a difference if we had a brother, asister, a mother, or father living in thisregion? Would it alert us to the tragiccircumstances people face every day allover the world if we had a relationalconnection in these regions? Makingit personal would probably giveprayer new meaning and priority.

In my own defense, I have to saythat I am committed to prayer. Ibelieve it works. And I believe Godanswers. I think it should be importantand prioritized. I dedicate a consider-able amount of my time to it. I wouldeven go so far as to say that prayer isthe greatest spiritual activity we cando. Did you hear that? Prayer is thegreatest spiritual activity we can do. Butit takes two things: work and time—the former, it seems, I am on a missionto avoid and the latter I must chipaway from a schedule made of stone.

So it really does revertback to being personal.But the relationship thatwe must cultivate is moreon the vertical plane thanthe horizontal. By deep-ening my relationshipwith God, I begin to sensethings as He does. I beginhearing, seeing, and feel-ing the things He hears,sees, and feels— every-thing becomes more per-sonal. Those people justkilled and injured in aroadside bomb are myfamily. Those caught in anendless cycle of drug and alcoholaddiction are my brothers. Thosedestroying their lives through idolatryare my friends. When it involves fam-ily, prayer is suddenly less arduous andmore urgent.

Bottom line—when it comes toprayer—take it personally! ‘

shelter from a thunderstorm next to ahaystack in Williamstown, Massachu-setts. With their thoughts turnedtoward their classroom studies of Asiaand the East India Company, they

decided to pray that the Gospel wouldbe sent abroad. No one documentedtheir exact words. No one outside oftheir circle knew or even cared aboutwhat they were doing. What seemedlike an activity to pass the time untilthe weather cleared, ignited a sparkthat gave birth to the American mis-

sionary movement—the greatest mis-sionary movement in the history ofChristianity. All because five kids—Samuel Mills, Harvey Loomis, ByramGreen, Francis L. Robbins, and JamesRichards—got down on their kneesand simply did what Jesus told themto do — pray for the harvest. Imagineif all of Christ’s followers did that.

It’s optimistic to think that everybeliever on the face of the earth willpray consistently on behalf of the har-vest. The reality is that only a fractionwill even think about the unreachedmasses. The haystack group, how-ever, illustrates the fact that itdoesn’t take billions or millions, oreven hundreds to make a difference.It really only takes one.

If we could see the significant dif-ference our prayers make for the King-dom, we would certainly be moreinclined and more committed to mak-ing prayer a priority. If we did nothingelse, it would still be the best thing wecan do. God has a heart for the nations.When we pray, we access the passion-ate mind, power, and will of God.

Prayer is the work of missions.And it all begins with one... it allbegins with you. ‘

A Billion People Continued from page 1

SOW International has prepared a colorful and attractive bookmark for you as areminder to pray for the work of making the Scriptures available to the unreached. Ifyou would like to receive one for yourself or several to pass out to friends and churchmembers, please call 866-807-7676 and we will mail themimmediately. You may ask for asmany as you need.

For more informationand tools to help you praymore effectively, visit thePrint Media Section onSOW International’s websiteat www.sowintl.com

Prayer Bookmarks Available

3.

What if the armies of the LordPicked up and dusted off their swords

Vowed to set the captives freeAnd not let Satan have one more

What if the church for heaven's sakeFinally stepped up to the plate

Took a stand upon God's promiseAnd stormed hell's rusty gates

What if His people prayed?Mark Hall ~ Casting Crowns

4.

Priority Prayer Items:

1. Pray for those on the front lines of spiritual battle• Pray that God would strengthen their relationshipsas a family and as a husband and wife.

• Pray for their extended families (many haveunsaved parents, siblings, etc.).

• Ask God’s blessing on their children.

• Pray for their housing situations and the commu-nity in which they reside (they are often ostracizedbecause of their stand for Christ).

• Pray for their physical health.

• Pray that God would strengthen their personalwalk with the Lord.

• Pray for a veil of God’s protection around them.

2. Pray for those involved in Bible Storytelling, Translation,and Distribution• Pray that they would grow in their knowledge ofthe Word.

• Pray that God would provide wisdom to com-municate (in both verbal and written form) bibli-cal and spiritual concepts in a meaningful andunderstandable way.

• Pray for boldness in the gospel presentation.

• Ask God to remove the religious, political, cultural,educational, and spiritual barriers that hinder thework.

3. Pray for the churches and faith communities withinthese regions• Pray for spiritual growth among new believers.

• Pray for new and spiritually gifted leadership.

• Pray that each would be burdened for their sur-rounding communities and villages.

• Pray that they will also see the need to pray fortheir own work as well as those who are prayingand supporting them.

Please take advantage of the resources SOW andother organizations have made available to you. Yourprayers will keep you involved on a more personal levelwith those without God’s Word and those who workamong Bibleless peoples. Praying strategically will pro-vide a veil of needed protection for God’s servants asthey blaze new trails in the most spiritually dark regionsof the world. Your prayers help break down spiritualstrongholds and may be the very thing that allows theGospel to spread and reach an entire people group. ‘

The Priority of Prayer Continued from page 2

For more information and tools to help youpray more effectively, visit the Print MediaSection on SOW International’s website. You can also download SOW’s colorful

31-Day Prayer Guide at: www.sowintl.com/media_print.html.

P.O. Box 1302 • Holly Springs, GA 30142

866-807-7676www.sowintl.com

©2012 SOW International. All rights reserved.

To receive a printed version of SOW’s 31-Day Prayer Guide or several to passout to friends and church members, please call 866-807-7676.