The first part of the Radical Experiment is to pray for the entire world over the course of a year. Rather than a general...God bless the world....prayer, the author, David Platt, encourages you to pray for each country specifically.
Though this might seem like a daunting task, it is made easier by Operation World. They have broken down the general prayer needs of each country as well as statistics and relevant information about each. They have a free version on their website: Operation World. They also sale it in book form with the title "Operation World."
I have not found another resource comparable to Operation World, but if anyone knows of one please let me know!
Now, you might be wondering why we would be challenged to pray for the entire world. The answer is pretty simple on this one! God has a heart for the nations!!
Scripture demonstrates over and over how much God cares for the entire world. In Matthew 24:14 and 28:19, Mark 11:17, 13:10 and 13:27 are just a few verses that let us see into the passion and desire that God has to draw every tribe and every nation to Him.
It is easy to let our hearts become so full of all we have...all we feel blessed with that we don't leave room for the rest of the world. But you see, our hearts should be for the world.
John 17: 22-23 tells us:
"22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. "
In this chapter Jesus begins by praying for his disciples and then he begins to pray future believers. He prays that we will be unified in Him as He is in the Father so that the world will know him and know they are loved!!
Our hearts should be like Jesus' and herald a passionate beat for the world.
It is so easy to forget our purpose....and it is all of our purpose...we are ambassadors for Christ according to 2 Corinthians 5:20. An ambassador is an official representative. We must go and represent.
And finally let's not forget Matthew 28:16-20:
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
We are tasked with having a passion for people, being a representative of Christ, and going.
How can I do any of that if I stay in my white, middle-class bubble?
And how can I burst my bubble without first praying for those whom I am called to serve?
So today, begin a your journey to be an ambassador for Christ and pray for the world!!
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