Lets finish well...

Dear brothers and sisters,

I would like to say how wonderful it was to unite with you in prayer for India this past week! Sleeping in feels great, but waking up and giving your undivided attention to Christ for the first hour of the day is absolutely irreplaceable, priceless, and powerful beyond measure. Knowing that God not only heard but answered many prayers which were lifted up by multiple voices over this week makes my heart soar. Thank you all so much for your commitment and dedication to praying for the people and the places of India.

Though our week of prayer together for India has come to an end, I ask that you would not cease to remember the people and the places in your prayers regularly. The end of our week of committed prayer is not the end of the calling and responsibility we have to pray for those whom God has placed in our lives and on our hearts.

Whether you are one who prayed from 7-8 every morning, or are one who remembered India throughout the day, or even one who did both, God used this week to speak to you in one way or another. Were you listening? Did you hear it?

I urge you to consider what the message God sent to you this past week may have been. Was he moving your heart into a further understanding so as to lead you into action for India? Have you been moved to be a prayer warrior for the people of that land? Have you been summoned as a giver or a supporter? Has God put it upon your heart to be a motivator to others? There is no end for us in the work God has placed before us. Continue to build the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth in any and every way God has given you the ability.

Whatever God has done, or has begun in you this week, do not let it go to waste. Do not be like those in the Bible who are ever listening but never hearing, ever seeing but never understanding; take to heart every message sent to you from the Holy One. His call, and the responsibilities which come through that call, are not conditional – it is not for only a short time – it is permanent, everlasting, binding, consuming, and all encompassing. Do not let it go.

We live in an age where, even with technology and all the advancements which have come with it, it is getting harder and harder to reach those who have yet to hear the name of Christ. Out of all the missionaries sent into the field, a staggeringly low percentage of them are going to those who are yet to be reached. Our resources are being sent mainly to those places where the church has been established and is already being built. There are an estimated 16,351 known people groups in the world, 6,646 of those groups are still unreached; 2.75 out of 6.70 billion people unreached…that makes right around 41% of the people of the world. In India alone there are 2,190 out of 2,501 people groups who are un/least reached. For every million unreached Muslims alone, there are only 3 full time missionaries; over 87% of missionaries sent out are sent to areas where there are already Christian churches set up. For every $1 of giving to missions only half a penny goes towards working among unreached people groups…(you can find these stats and much more here: http://www.joshuaproject.net/index.php). We are far too comfortable in our lives in this part of history. The world is so “me-focused” that countless numbers of people are perishing without knowing the Name of Jesus. If God has put it on your heart I pray that you would shake off that way of living; that you would step far out of your comfort zone. Would you be willing to go that distance for Him? Would you go to those places where people do not know this Jesus? Will you be a prayer warrior for those who have not heard? God can and will use your voice. There is evidence that God has been working in recent years; true Christianity has grown by more than 300 million believers in the past ten years! (http://www.joshuaproject.net/index.php).

No matter what God has placed on your heart, I pray you would acknowledge it for what it is and treat it as no less than He deserves. Do not let the end of this week mean the end of a good thing. You have heard the saying that “all good things come to an end,” this time it does not have to. I pray the Lord would continue the work He has started in you through this week of devoting time to Him and His children in India.

Encourage each other. Tell each other what God has placed on your heart. Find someone to share it with and who will keep you accountable to that leading. Seek guidance.

You called me to live for you
You made my life to be lived in you
You took my doubts and my fears away
Show me how to love like you
You showed me your brokenness
Now write it on my heart
Teach me how to follow you
Show me the steps to take in you
You called me
Here I am

I ask you now to share some of the things which God placed on your heart this week. No matter how much time you may have specifically set aside for prayer, did God tell you something? Did he remind you of a part of the journey you took into India? Was it a specific event? A certain day? A particular child you met along the way or a verse you read while you were serving so far away from home? No matter what it was, would you encourage us by sharing something that you heard from the Holy Spirit this week?

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you. This is to my father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” –John 15:1-8

May you remain in the vine of the Father and bear much fruit through the leading and teaching of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Lord and by the power of His shed blood I pray these things over each one of us that we would not be like the branches thrown away and burned, but that we would each remain in the word of the King and bear much fresh fruit. Amen!