Prayers for the Unreached

Prayer Guide for the Unreached People Groups of the World

Praying for the Unreached

In Matthew 9 the harvest and prayer are connected directly with one another. Prayer is the key word as far as the execution of this commission is concerned. The Great Commission therefore lies in the word “pray” rather than in the phrase “therefore go” which is used in Matthew 28:18- 20.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

The Great Commission in Matthew 9:37-38 applies to all Christians.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)

The section in Matthew 28:18-20 and that in Mark 16:15 contain instructions to those who have been called by God specifically to go into the harvest field.

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. (Mark 16:15)

Many debate whether it is clear or not that all should preach, but Matthew 9 makes it clear that everybody is called to pray.

Please be in prayer for the unreached people groups of the world. My prayer is that this guide will help you and lead you into praying for the unreached people.

Joshua ProjectJoshua Project is a research initiative seeking to highlight the ethnic people groups of the world with the fewest followers of Christ. For more information about the unreached I encourage you to visit www.joshuaproject.net

Intercession for the Unreached

Ask The Lord for specific Scriptures when you pray for a particular group. What is God’s planand will for that group?

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17)

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

Pray for the most important leaders of that nation/group those who exercise the greatest influence on the members of the group - that The Holy Spirit will take away their spiritual blindness

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

Pray that the specific group/nation will become disillusioned and dissatisfied with their demonic gods

and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (John 16:13)

always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:7)

2Praying for the Unreached

Intercession for the Unreached

Pray for supernatural/extraordinary manifestations of God among such groups (revelations, dreams, visions, healing, etc)

And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; (Acts 2:19)

while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:30)

while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. (Hebrews 2:4)

Pray for open doors so that missionaries will be able to take the Gospel to that group.

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. (Psalms 2:8)

At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison(Colossians 4:3)

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)

Pray for the protection and safety of missionaries and other workers, for wisdom, for the anointing with the Holy Spirit in order to do their work, unity among the workers and Divine Love for the unreached.

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” (2 Chronicles 16:9)

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. (Psalms 34:7)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place-- the Most High, who is my refuge-- no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (Psalms 91:1-16)

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might (Ephesians 1:17-19)

Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6)

3Praying for the Unreached

Make ample use of worship and praise when you pray for an unreached group.

To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm. Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah (Psalms 66:1-4)

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song. May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him! (Psalms 67:1-7)

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. (Psalms 95:1-3)

Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! (Psalms 96:1-3)

The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! (Psalms 97:1)

A Psalm. Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The LORD has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. (Psalms 98:1-2)

Know that persistent prayer breaks down the resistance of demonic powers and that it steadily weakens the hold that evil has on people.

Pray for the Lord to reveal to you (and your prayer group) where the strongholds of evil are and how to conquer them. Ask the Lord for a strategy according to which to pray against those strongholds and demonic rulers and apply this strategy to conduct spiritual warfare.

Pray that the Spirit of God will raise people from that unreached group to build a strong church among their own people.

Jerry Rankin on Unreached People’s and the Power of Prayer:

The massive number unreached people groups that have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ overwhelm our most visionary missions strategies. There are over 2000 unengaged people groups with no Scripture, no missionaries, and no believers. There are multiple obstacles in the way of us reaching these people including hostile wordviews, religious systems, and governments.

For what reason should any people be deprived of hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ when we have easily been given the resources to reach the World?

s it not God’s will that they know of a Savior? God’s will is for his name to be exalted among the nations and peoples of this world. If we don’t take the gospel to the end of the earth, who will? No one else is responsible or accountable to accomplish this task.

Psalm 37:4. What are the desires of you heart? The desire of our heart when we delight in the Lord is the Lord himself. We then desire the things God desires, and heart grows to reach the lost

taken from the Desiring God Pastors Conference

4Praying for the Unreached

When one prays for the unreached in greater detail, the following 2 basic issues should receive attention:

*The Church All Over the World*The Church In Unreached People Groups

The Church All Over the World

It is the task of the church of Jesus Christ to take the Gospel of Salvation to the nations of the World. Therefore, when we pray, we have to pray that the Church of Christ all over the World will take the Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 literally.

Pray for the church to gain a new vision for mission work.

Pray that missionary information will reach congregations and make them aware of the need that exists.

Pray that the ministers/pastors will preach about this matter more regularly and that it will become a matter of urgency in every congregation

Pray that the church will send out missionaries. There is hardly a congregation that cannot afford to send out and maintain at least one missionary - even if these are only short-term missionaries. There are thousands of congregations that can afford to send out and maintain two missionaries and more.

Pray that more and more church members who experience God calling them to do full-time or part-time mission work will actually obey this call. God calls enough people - the problem is that too few obey the call.

Pray that the church will make available funds in order that the Gospel may be taken to the unreached. At present the church all over the World gives approximately 10 cents per member per week for the reaching of the unreached. Pray that this amount will increase dramatically.

5Praying for the Unreached

Pray for a prayer vision that the church may realize the power that is inherent in intercession and that each congregation will include intercession for the unreached in its weekly prayer program.

Pray that the congregations will realize what a privilege it is to be able to take the Gospel to the unreached nations of the World

It is the task and privilege of the church to pray together with Jesus Christ for the redemption of the nations.

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

Pray that the church will realize that God rules over the nations and that He hold the nations of the World in His Hand.

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. (Psalms 2:8)

He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah (Psalms 47:3-4)

God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted! (Psalms 47:8-9)

God has authority over the nations, therefore the children of the Lord should call out to God to save them

He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away. (Job 12:23)

The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. (Isaiah 52:10)

The Church All Over the World

The church must pray that God’s plan for each nation on Earth will be fulfilled.

And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, (Revelation 5:9)

For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. (Psalms 22:28-29)

The church has to pray from the awareness that He who is within us, is greater than he who is within the World.

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

The church of Christ should once again humble itself before God because up to now it has taken His Great Commission so lightly.

We have to confess our lovelessness and disunity. We have to pray for unity within the body of Christ and among us as its members so that the unreached will accept our credibility and we will be able to execute our assignment with a united front.

Pray for men and women with vision and with the ability to mobilize the church and guide it to fulfill The Lord’s commission, namely to take the Gospel to the ends of the Earth

Pray that the men and women who go out into the harvest fields are people who are filled with the Holy Spirit

6Praying for the Unreached

Pray for the missionaries who go into foreign countries that they will easily and quickly acclimatize, learn the indigenous language, get to know and understand the locals’ culture and habits and that they will manage to live among these people in Christian wisdom and holiness.

Pray for the necessary resources to effectively convey the Gospel to the unreached, i.e. media ministry. (TV and radio), videos and audio cassettes, Bible and literature in the indigenous language, correspondence courses, etc.

Pray in particular for further growth as far as the extension of youth ministries are concerned.

Pray that the churches and different mission organizations will start networking and working together to reach the various unreached groups. A lack of unity in the approach / advance of the church is probably the single greatest reason for the poor progress made by the church as far as reaching the unreached is concerned.

Pray for cross-cultural missionaries and especially for tent makers and Christians in professional occupations to go to these unreached groups and work among them. Pray that they will be employed in strategic places and so prepare the way for mission teams and the showing of a Jesus film. Pray for Every Home For Christ and other groups to come and do mission work there later.

God uses missionary prayer to break through to our hearts, so that we will go to the people in darkness. As we begin to pray for unreach people groups, our heart agrees with Isaiah in Isaiah 6:8.

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)

The Church In Unreached People Groups

In many countries and among the majority of unreached groups a small number of Christian churches have already been established and in some cases a small following of believers has also come together. It is for these small churches and groups that we should pray continuously. They already bring a ray of hope into the darkness that surrounds the unreached group.

Pray for the development of leadership in such groups and churches. Good leadership is imperative for healthy church growth. Pray that the believers will grow rapidly in their spiritual life to become mature disciples of Christ. Pray that the Spirit of God will open the Scriptures to them so that they will understand them well and know clearly how to apply them practically every day.

Pray for perseverance despite persecution. The Christian faith is hardly tolerated in countries where Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc have a very wide following. People from these faiths who become converted to Christianity are often persecuted and banned from the local community.

Pray that the Lord will fill His children among the unreached with His Holy Spirit and in particular inspire them with an passion for mission work. Pray that these believers will realize their responsibility and that they will not pull back in the face of the challenge or because of any form of resistance or intimidation.

Pray especially that converts will not emigrate, since such action in fact weakens the Christian testimony in these regions and groups.

Pray for unity among the small groups and against false doctrines that often come in and destroy the young congregations.

7Praying for the Unreached

Pray that they will be allowed the freedom to come together for worshipping God and preaching the Gospel. It is unfortunately a well known fact that the majority of unreached groups live in countries or regions where restrictions are placed on the proclamation of the Gospel.

Pray for an extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit on these small churches (acts 4:31). In 1992 there was a tremendous revival in hundreds of Egyptian villages. The effect of it was that more than 25 000 Muslims were converted to Christianity within eight months. The revival in the different towns originated in their small churches.

Let this passage of Scripture be our prayer for the Unreached!

Sing to the LORD, all the earth!

Tell of His salvation from day to day.

Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!

For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and He is to be held in awe above all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy are in His place.

(1 Chronicles 16:23-27)

Pray for the Salvation of the Unreached

Pray that whole families will become converted - it makes it a lot easier for the converts to remain standing.

Pray that the Holy Spirit will work in their hearts in a divine way and urge them to search for the True God in Jesus Christ.

Pray that the Spirit of the Lord will prepare their hearts to receive the Gospel when they hear it.

Pray for a revelation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Redeemer of the World among the unevangelized. Ample evidence is received that God is revealing Himself in supernatural ways, particularly to Muslim communities.

In supernatural ways thirty-five per cent of Turkish Muslims who have become converted testify that their conversion was preceded by visions or dreams or even a visit from angels.

Pray for the unsaved to be convicted of sin and that this will drive them to search for the peace and redemption that there is in Christ.

Pray that the unreached nations will be exposed to the Gospel in different ways (by means of the radio, television, Bible, spiritual books, mission work, social action, etc) and that they will in this way be drawn to Christ.

Pray especially for the redemption of individuals who are leaders or who are in positions of authority. Pray that these people will openly confess their sins and their faith in Christ and that they will also follow Him openly.

Pray that the unsaved will grow tired of sin and that they will realize that their own religions are false and evil. Pray that a desire for the truth and for lasting peace in their hearts will grow within them.

8Praying for the Unreached

Pray that the Lord will reveal the demonic strongholds among the unreached to the church that blind people to the truth of the Gospel. Through his Holy Spirit spiritual warfare should be conducted against these demonic powers that keep entire nations or communities in the darkness of sin.

Pray for the unsaved while you Praise The Lord - know that God saves and heals people

Support the Mission

Visit these resources for ways that you can help make a difference:

Operation World

US Center for World Mission

Mission Frontiers

Operation Worldview

God’s Heart For the Nations

The Edge

Joshua Project

Project One