Praying for the World

A couple of weeks ago, I challenged you (and myself!) to let the Olympics change the way we pray for the world. Not sure where to start? Here are a few resources that my family and faith family use. I highly recommend all of them!

Operation World is a phenomenal resource that covers every country and territory in the world. Recently revised and updated (2010), the book provides basic information for each country, ways to pray, and recent answers to prayer. The website provides additional resources such as videos, an introductory 60-day prayer challenge, prayer calendar, and other free resources. By reading Operation World, you will pray for the entire world in only one year! Of all the resources listed, this has been the most instrumental in educating me about the world!

Window on the World is a complementary resource to Operation World. This is a great way for families to introduce their children to praying for the world. Each two-page spread features a country, people group, or special focus. The pages are filled with colorful photographs, interesting facts, and ways to pray. I used this book when I taught in our children's missions program at church a couple of years ago and loved it! I know other families that use this as part of their devotion time or as a component of their homeschooling curriculum.

 
Joshua Project is a "research initiative seeking to highlight the ethnic people groups with the least followers of Jesus Christ." While it may be more natural for us to think of the world as geopolitical countries, it's probably more accurate to look at the world in people groups. According to the website, a people group is "the largest group within which the gospel can spread as a church planting movement without encountering barriers of understanding or acceptance." You can sort people groups based on a variety of factors such as country, percent evangelical, persecution index, etc. It may sound a bit overwhelming, but here is a good place to start on the Joshua Project website.

Well . . . these should get you started at least. There are a ton of other resources that are helpful for learning about and praying for the world. Do you have suggestions of additional resources that we should check out?