Why Your Prayers Are Crucial
Have you ever had a conversation with a friend hit a wall, just when you were ready to tell them about Jesus? You can know God's word, understand and answer objections to the gospel and be able to engage in meaningful conversations. But when the person you want so much to reach is not ready to hear, none of that seems to matter.
In 27 years of serving with Jews for Jesus around the world, I have experienced that time after time. We all have. But we don't lose hope. We keep sowing, trusting and waiting for the one thing that we know makes all the difference.
The Apostle Paul summed it up when he told the Colossians: 'Pray also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ' (Colossians 4:3 ESV).
No one was better qualified than Paul to present the case for Jesus effectively, but he knew that unless God opens doors, the gospel does not go forward.
I find Paul's prayer request both humbling and a huge relief. Yes, we need to be ready to do God's work, but it's up to Him to prepare hearts and orchestrate situations so that our efforts land in the right place at the right time.
Not only did Paul request prayer for open doors, but he brought his prayer partners into sacred moments of rejoicing over God's unmistakable answers to those prayers. 'For a great and effective door has opened to me' (1 Corinthians 16:9). And again, a door was opened to me by the Lord' (2 Corinthians 2:12).
This month's stories invite you to rejoice with us over doors God has opened in Haredi (ultra Orthodox) communities. These communities are tightly knit, deeply traditional and largely insulated from outside influences. They have long been considered some of the most closed to the gospel.
We never want to try forcing doors that God is not opening. But we've been praying for years that God would open doors to these communities. We began making preliminary efforts to engage with them during our Behold Your God campaigns in New York (2006) and Jerusalem (2018). Then, in September 2020, a small team of our missionaries dedicated themselves to this calling, with unrelenting prayer. Many of you have been praying as well. For years, our team sowed patiently and met daily to ask the Lord to guide their efforts, open hearts and create opportunities.
God has been answering in astonishing ways! Please, rejoice with us -- not as onlookers, but as active partners whose prayers help open doors to reach people once believed to be unreachable. And be encouraged to pray for God to open doors to reach the seemingly unreachable people in your life as well.