‘INFORMED INTERCESSION’ – Key to Strategic Global Intercession!

How Maps and Data can be Tools for Global Intercession!

Missions Intercessors must be resourced with information about the strategic nature of the Global Mission of God, enabling them to pray effectively. If God so loved the World, we too should know how He sees the world and embrace it.

God’s Global Mission was first revealed to Abraham: “through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 22:18).
Two key words, ‘on earth’ and ‘all nations’, involve understanding both the geography and the demography of this Mission.
Therefore, Intercessors must widen their understanding of the scope of Global Intercession.

Importance of Strategic Information.

God is interested in the details!
When Moses was asked to send spies to spy out the land, they were tasked to find out specific strategic information as described in Numbers 13:17-20:

‘Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains (Topography),  and see what the land is like (Geography): whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many (Demography); whether the land they dwell in is good or bad (Farming & Agriculture & Wellbeing); whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds (Urban & Housing Data); whether the land is rich or poor (Minerals & Economy); and whether there are forests there or not (Climate & Environment).” 

Having such details is equally vital for Intercessors, because they are not inheriting just a promised land, but have a greater calling to inherit Nations!
 ‘Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. ‘ (Psalms 2:8)

The Scope of Intercession: Migrants or Missionaries?

To expand the scope to Global Intercession, we must broaden our information base.
Israel failed in its mission to be a blessing to ‘all the Nations of the earth,’ and limited their scope of influence to the geography of Palestine. Instead of travelling to other regions such as Assyria and Babylon as missionaries, they only went as slaves and exiles. Today, many nations are sending thousands of Christians as migrant workers and not as missionaries! Intercession can change this.

Even the Disciples had a limited perspective of Jesus’ Mission, focusing it to their Jewish homeland of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria.  However, Jesus had a global view of His Mission! When a woman anointed Jesus with a costly perfume before His death, the disciples considered it a ‘waste,’ But Jesus revealed that she acted as a partner with His Global Mission!
‘Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”’
Mark 14:9
Intercession may be viewed as a ‘waste of precious time’ amid the Church’s busy agenda. Yet Jesus holds Intercessors in high esteem because they are a vital part of His mission.

Geography and Demography of the Great Commission.  

MAPS & DATA: As mentioned before, Demography focuses on who the people are, while Geography focuses on where they are and why.
The Great Commission first involves geographic aspects of “…Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). The Command to ‘Go’ involves crossing geographic locations! It is important to understand the Earth’s geographic nature and the relative arrangement of places and physical features, as well as the major divisions of Continents, Regions, and Countries.
Maps are strategic for Intercession!
Second, the aspect of Demography involves making ‘Disciples All Nations’ (Matthew 28:19) and  ‘repentance…be preached in his name to all Nations.  (Luke 24:47). Demography is the study of the composition of a particular human population, defined by factors such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, languages, social and economic conditions, etc.
Data is what drives Intercession!
Heaven celebrates the culmination of the Great Commission, focusing on both aspects, when diverse people worship the Lamb, saying:
“With your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).
As you will see below, the Great Commission is partially fulfilled geographically, as the Gospel has spread to almost every country on Earth. Yet, the demographic fulfillment of reaching “every tribe and language and people and nation (Ethnos) ‘ is still to be accomplished. Having such vital information is crucial for Missions Intercession!

Jerusalem and Antioch Missions:

As noted earlier, the Apostles of the Jerusalem Church primarily focused on Jewish geography in Palestine, while the Apostle Paul and the Antioch Church reached out to the ‘Roman world’ and beyond.  
The demographic nature of his mission is noted in Colossians 3:10-11:
“Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free…”
The Barbarians were Germanic tribes in Western Europe, and the Scythians were an ancient Indo-European people of the Eurasian steppes in southwestern Russia.
Paul had a wider engagement with both geographic and demographic missions.

Enlarging Boundaries in Intercession.

Following Paul’s example, we share this strategic information to recruit you as a Global Intercessor. This is what He wished for the Corinthian Church:

“Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you.” (2 Corinthians 10:15-16)

The 3-fold purpose of Global Intercession:

• Your Faith Continues to Grow.
• Intercession will Greatly Expand.
• Gospel will go to Regions Beyond!

We are grateful to Operation World for providing us with valuable strategic information for global Intercession.
Let’s get the big picture of God’s World!

PRAY FOR THE WORLD:

Beginning this week, we will share information about the 5 major Regions of the World, along with other strategic information for Intercession.
See: Pray for the World and Regions. (See more details at the end)

The World and God’s Mission!

• Christianity has been reaffirmed as a global religion, and there are now Christians living and fellowshipping in every country on earth. World mission, globalization, and high migration rates have dispersed the Church into every corner of the world, both to previously unevangelized areas and back to traditionally Christian regions where the Church is in sharp decline.
  
  
• Evangelical Christianity had been growing at a rate faster than any other world religion or global religious movement. The surge of evangelical missions after WWII was an astonishing success story, but most of the subsequent growth came from a new generation of indigenous evangelical movements around the world. Globally, evangelicals numbered 89 million (2.9%) in 1960, but by 2020, they were possibly as many as 625 million (7.9%).

• Missionary Work:
  The astonishing shift of Christianity’s centre of gravity to the Majority World, earlier known as the Third World. (Around 85% of the global population living in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East).  
  This is praiseworthy, as hundreds of millions heard the good news for the first time in the past century. It is also an indication that the missionary efforts of the past 200 years have borne incredible fruit, though at times it was slow in coming. Years and generations of prayer and faithful service to the unevangelized world by both missionaries and indigenous Christians have not been in vain.

• Persecution. The strength and growth of the Church in lands that now have, or have had in the past, severe persecution. Some examples of places where both persecution and Church growth are prominent include China, India, Sudan, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Iran, and Myanmar, to name but a few.
  
• Pray for Missionary vision in the Church:
  An Acts 1:8 strategy is needed for every church and denomination. Amazing results have been achieved by a dedicated few. How speedily the world would be evangelized if all believers and every congregation obeyed the commands of Jesus in Acts 1 and believed His promises of enablement through the Holy Spirit!
  Pray for the awakening and growth of missionary concern.
  
• The globalization of the Great Commission!
  Many nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have mission-sending movements.  The Majority World nations together already send more missionaries than Western countries. This exciting 21st-century reality also introduces unique challenges. International agencies see more recruits from the Majority World. Praise God for a global mission force that is more multi-cultural and multi-national than ever before!
  
• Global Pentecostals and Charismatics:
  Pentecostals and charismatics together grew from around 20 million in 1960 to over 600 million in 2020. The charismatic renewal has touched many parts of the Church, in thousands of denominations, in nearly every country. Renewal movements have grown at an unforeseen rate – from the birth of the Pentecostal movement at the beginning of the 20th Century, to the first stirrings of charismatic renewal in the 1950s and 1960s, to the Third Wave in the latter part of the 20th Century, and finally to the 21st Century. Many believe this is a new (and possibly final) global outpouring of the Holy Spirit that exceeds them all.
  
• Global Intercession:
  God’s people joined together to pray in greater numbers and with greater focus than ever before! Grassroots movements on the local, national, and international levels pray for their communities, for countries and people groups, and for important global issues (like the persecuted Church, children at risk, victims of human trafficking, and others).
  
  

The Global Religious Context:

• Islam dominates a territory that stretches from West Africa, through the Middle East and Central Asia, down to Indonesia. Islam grew quickly, from 12.3% of humanity (1900) to 24.3% (2020). Most Muslim growth comes through high birth rates, but conversion plays a big part in West Africa, Indonesia, and the USA. But Islam faces significant internal crises. The violence and terror tactics of radical Islamists horrify the world, including many of the peace-loving Muslims who make up the majority of Islam.
  More Muslims than ever have turned to Jesus, but many Muslims decide to abandon religion altogether. Muslims have become a large minority inside many Western countries, but communities struggle with the social and spiritual effects of secular culture on their faith, especially among young people.
  Pray for the small streams of Muslims who come to Christ to become rushing rivers all over the world!
  This month we will have a special prayer during Ramadan for the Muslims.

• Hinduism remains strongly centred in India (90% of the world’s Hindus live there). But Hindu ideas became more popular across the world, through New Age thinking, yoga, transcendental meditation, the Hare Krishna sect, and popular Indian gurus (spiritual guides). Like Islam, Hinduism also has a violent side. Extremist Hindu groups actively persecute Christians and followers of other faiths in India and Nepal. The Indian sub-continent has the world’s highest concentration of unreached peoples. While the Church continues to grow rapidly among the poorest and the lowest castes, the main body of caste Hindus remains largely isolated from the gospel. Pray for Jesus to be revealed to the world’s billion-plus Hindus.

• Buddhism is an official religion in six Asian countries and is a significant minority in 10 others. In most places, followers actually mix Buddhism with Chinese religions, Daoism, Confucianism, and Shinto. After Communism lost its strong influence in Asia, Buddhism began to grow again. The Dalai Lama of Tibet has made Buddhism more popular in Western countries. Only a small minority from Buddhist backgrounds have come to Jesus. The worldviews of Buddhists and Christians have great differences, and many Buddhists struggle to understand the gospel message in the ways Christians have tried to communicate it.
  Pray for a breakthrough among the Buddhists.

We trust that you will engage in Global Intercession this year by being an “Informed Intercessor!”

We deeply appreciate the resources available to us for Intercession from Operation World. We recommend this book or download the OW App, which sends daily updates on Nations. You can also subscribe to their daily Email on Prayer for a Nation.

Sources:
Operation World.