7 Days of Prayer: Sunday, 16 December 2023

By Justin Long

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Join us in beseeching (δέομαι) the Lord of the Harvest this week for…

1. We pray for the church in China. Some recent analyses suggest that the growth of the church, in terms of new converts, has tapered off. We thank God for the massive growth in the church over the past several decades – “so many souls, they are too numerous to be counted by us” (Genesis 15:5) – and yet we pray for the Spirit to anoint the church in China with a resurgence of boldness and wisdom in evangelism, that would lead to many new souls entering the Kingdom. We pray in the next decade, the church would grow as a share of the overall Chinese population. We pray that the church would have a transformative impact on China as a nation, and even that a majority of Chinese would come to worship the King of Kings.

2. We pray for the many spiritually hungry Iranian pilgrims who are undertaking the Umrah pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. This “lesser pilgrimage” is not required, and so perhaps those who take it are even more spiritually hungry and devout than those going on the required hajj. We pray that dreams and visions of Jesus would meet these pilgrims on their journey, and that their lives would intersect believers who can show them the True Way to Life. We pray the story of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-40) would be their story—that they will encounter people who can help them discover the answers they seek.

3. We pray for the spiritual transformation of Maharashtra, in India. This province is #2 on the least-reached provinces list: over 100 million people, and a center of India’s economy and education system. It is home to Bombay, the wealthiest, most populous city in India, 8th most populous in the world, as well as much of India’s industry, ports, and Bollywood. Despite the concentration of finance and technology, more than half of the province’s districts are lightly populated, rural, agricultural-centered. The province is estimated to be somewhere between 1 and 5% Christian. Should a tenth or more of Maharashtra come to faith in Jesus, the ramifications for India, and the world, could be earth-shaking.

4. We pray for the refugees who are starving and abused. This week, articles tell us about refugees being kidnapped and tortured for ransom in Libya, and starving in insufficiently funded refugee camps in East Africa. Pray for efforts for believers that would reach out to those “in prison,” naked, hungry, and sick. Pray that many who hear “good news” will come into the Kingdom as a result. (Matthew 25:35-40).

5. An article about clothing produced by Uighurs who are forced to labor reminds us of this neglected and largely unreached people group. The Uighurs have been under severe oppression in China for decades. Pray for the true Kingdom to spread among this group, and for believers to continue to seek justice and their release from bondage.

6. While reading about a pastor who has helped smuggle 1,000 North Koreans out, we remember and pray for the many ministries that are laboring to be a blessing to North Koreans. In the “Hermit Kingdom,” millions sit in great darkness. We pray for the Gospel to spread through the cracks into North Koreans, and pray for the believers who are seeking to reach them.

7. We continue to pray for those suffering in the midst of the many hot wars in our world: the Sahel (50 million facing starvation as conflict spreads), Sudan (with its terrible war-time atrocities of murder and rape), Ukraine (now having reached its 650th day), as well as protracted civil uprisings and violence like DR Congo and Myanmar (where the war is perhaps tipping against the government). Pray especially for believers who are laboring to work in the midst of the fighting, at risk to themselves, to be a blessing and to spread the Kingdom.

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This is a weekly guide to beseeching (δέομαι/deomai, Matthew 9) the Lord of the Harvest for the unreached peoples and places of the world. Written by Justin Long, it’s based on the events listed in his Weekly Roundup, as well as on information received from disciple-making movements and other sources around the world. If you’re interested in his Weekly Roundup (out each Friday), you can see a sample and sign up for it here.