The Web and prayer

“Stay alert, be in prayer, so that you don't enter the danger zone without even knowing it. Don’t be naive.” (Mark 14:38 Msg)

“I'd look at one of my stonecutters hammering away at a rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet, at the hundred and first blow, it would split in two, and I knew it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”
– Jacob A. Riis

The Web has revolutionized prayer for evangelism. No longer do prayer requests have to wait for a prayer letter or printed magazine. Now urgent prayer requests can be flashed around the world within minutes to an audience of thousands. Missionaries are never more than an email away from their support base. Christians have never been better informed, or more in touch.

Prayer is relevant to online evangelism in two ways:

• For the evangelists

  It is very easy to think that online evangelism, done in the safety of your own home or office, is not ‘real’ evangelism, and does not merit the sort of prayer cover that someone should receive when working in a front-line ministry, whether in their home country or overseas.

  This is totally not true! Anyone sharing the Gospel online is in the dangerous zone, and needs consistent, ongoing prayer support. If you are involved in online evangelism (whether spare-time or full-time), make it your business to find a support base of friends in your church and beyond, who will pray regularly for you. Design a prayer card. Send regular email or printed prayer letters. Encourage your prayer team to feel very much part of your ministry.

  The Enemy will seek to drag down any effective evangelist in numerous ways: attacking weak areas in their personal or family life, health, their appropriate use of time and priorities, temptation to view inappropriate online material, and sowing doubts and depression – the usual stuff. I know a number of web evangelists who have suffered considerably, and are certainly in need of ongoing prayer.

  John Edmiston, a key worker in web evangelism, writes,

  “I find my online ministry rises or falls depending on how much prayer is happening for it. Quite a few missions say that around 40 prayer partners is the minimum you should aim for. My safety net is: ‘Send weekly brief prayer points to at least 40 Christians who have chosen to pray for you.’ In my decade online I have found that this is the minimum amount of prayer needed to feel blessed and powerful in ministry. Less prayer than this seems to leave my ministry vulnerable to spiritual attacks, and nagging technical problems. Also frequent short prayer notes seem to work best and keep people motivated to pray.”

  Online evangelists need prayer too for freshness in creativity (2 Chron. 2:7,13-14), inspiration in writing (Ps. 45:1 & Hab. 2:2), wisdom in counseling (2 Cor. 1:3-5), and insight into technology. Prayer is an essential part of planning an outreach site, as Doug's testimony shows.

  Paul says...

  We see this dependence on prayer support in the life of the archetypal evangelist and church planter – Paul. He asks for prayer:
  • that the message be effectively transmitted through him: 2 Thess. 3:1, Eph. 6:19-20.
  • for clarity in use of words: Col. 4:4.
  • for deliverance from danger and pressure, even despair: 2 Cor. 1:8-11.
  • for specific opportunities: Col. 4:3.

  In his writings we also see:

  • how he honestly shares the personal pressure he feels under due to his ministry: 2 Cor. 11:28-29.
  • the dangers of temptation, and the need to look out for each other: Gal. 6:1-2.
  • that our ministry is spiritual warfare and many problems and attacks will originate at this level: Eph. 6:10-17.

  • For seekers

    Many people contact evangelistic sites asking for help and counsel. While of course these messages are confidential and should be treated as such, many outreach ministries create a private network team of people who will pray for such contacts. This news can be circulated on a daily or weekly basis by email, with full names and addresses removed.

    It can seem impersonal to pray for people you have never met, and situations which may be only briefly described. But God will honor such praying, which is essential to effective online ministry.

    See Practical Prayer Evangelism – praying for individuals.

    Follow-up of seekers needs counseling gifts and training.

  Links on prayer

  • Pages on prayer – from the Asian Internet Bible Institute
  • Prayer Evangelism – by Michael Bronson
  • Prayer Evangelism – by Bret Hammond
  • Prayer – the Unsung Hero – by Michael Bronson

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