1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. –1 Timothy 2:1-4
This encouragement from Paul in the New Testament gives great context as to how our prayers for other nations are an important part of our walk with God. Prayer is something that each and every one of us can fully participate in. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how much money you can spare, what your talents are… everyone can partner in mission through PRAYER.
International Headquarters has organized a weekly prayer focus with a different Salvation Army territory each week, sharing specific prayer requests and praises (https://www.salvationarmy.org/prayer-focus). You can find that information on their website and often on social media as well. This is a practice that fosters unity, as we know that fellow Salvationists around the globe are all praying for the same location each week! In addition, the World Missions Department has created a similar resource with information and prayer concerns for each of the territories that are our Partners in Mission (https://centralmissions.org/pim-prayer/). They have also created an Advent Prayer Calendar highlighting different international prayer topics for this Advent season.
So, using these resources, let’s take time today to pray for the world. Let’s lift up our brothers and sisters around the world, our partners in mission, because this is one way each and every single one of us can be part of God’s work in this world.
