Asking God for Nations
By Doug Venn
While serving as a missionary in Bangkok, Thailand, I met Mr. Somchai and his wife. They were the owners of a little shop next to the Prakhanong Train Station. We met after my Thai language teacher had told me, “You must practice what you are learning every day with a Thai person!” After praying, I stopped by their little hawker shop to buy some cookies and practice the Thai that I had learned that day.
They were patient as I tried to enunciate clearly my new vocabulary using the five tones of the Thai language. Each word is like a note in a song. If you use the wrong tone for a specific word, then you have a different word. After each short exchange, I headed back to my office at the Thailand Adventist Mission to resume my church-planting duties.
As my Thai vocabulary grew, so did our friendship. I started to learn about their family, their history, and their joys and daily struggles. I longed for the day that my Thai vocabulary would grow large enough to communicate the hope that Christ gives and the incredible power of prayer.
That day finally came. What a joy it was to share with my friends the blessed hope of Christ’s soon return and the promise of the resurrection. What a joy it was to share the powerful promises from God’s Word. I left gospel tracts and DVDs with Thai people’s testimonies of answered prayers. Later I was able to pray in Thai, asking God’s blessing upon their family, their health, and their family business.
My family has since moved back to the United States, but I continue to pray for Mr. Somchai and his wife and daughters. Will you join me in praying for their salvation? In Psalm 2:8 we are told, “Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.”
It’s easy to always pray for our own personal requests and those in our own circle of influence, but there are nations that God is waiting to reach with the gospel. Will you join me in claiming Psalm 2:8 for the nations that have never heard the blessed hope of the everlasting gospel? Will you join the worldwide church in the Mission to the Cities initiatives to reach the masses for Jesus?
Let’s be more proactive. Let’s ask God for nations!
Doug Venn is the director of the Adventist Possibilities ministries at the General Conference.
World Church Prayer Requests
August 25 - 31, 2023
- Continue to pray for those affected by the fires in Maui as they seek to rebuild their lives. Pray for fresh hope, healing, and practical provisions.
- Pray for the “Family Togetherness Week of Prayer” coming up September 3-9. Materials provided by GC Family Ministries.
- Pray for peace between Russia and the Ukraine, and between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
- Pray for the Euro-Asia Division’s plans for a large evangelistic series that will reach many. There are challenges as a result of the conflict between countries, miracles are needed as they plan.
- Pray for the pastoral families of the ESD Division, that their families will stay close and united, even in the midst of ongoing conflict.
- Pray for refugee families around the world as they continue to travel and seek safe havens of rest. Some boats capsized while trying to cross the English Channel recently, and more lives were lost.