Discipleship and Prayer
Jesus has all authority and He is with us - that is the start and finish of the Great Commission
As Jesus called us to make disciples of all nations, the remaining task before us is massive, and it must start with prayer. If the definition of prayer is intimacy with God – the conversational part of the most important love relationship in our lives - then the destination of prayer is the fulfillment of His purposes. God has chosen to accomplish His purposes through the prayers of His people. He has ordained prayer as the channel through which He carries out His will.
One of the keys to effective prayer is praying for the fulfillment of the Great Commission!
The Bible places great importance on the role of prayer in the Great Commission. The term “the Great Commission” refers to Jesus’ final command to his disciples (and, by extension, to the church as a whole) while He was physically on the earth. We pray that every person and family, everywhere, would have an authentic encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus clearly said that the most effective way to do this, to see the Gospel of the kingdom proclaimed to all the world ,is by making disciples of every nation.
A Vision of Multiplication
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus commanded his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations from Mt. Arbel. Arbel is the tallest mountain in Galilee. Matthew’s Gospel tells us that after Jesus’ resurrection, He gave His disciples instructions to go to the mountain in Galilee.
On a clear day, standing on top of Arbel, you can see for miles. Looking to the north, you can see the peak of Mount Hermon, the largest mountain in Israel, towering over the borders between Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. To the east, you can see the Golan Heights, the black, basalt-stoned tabletop range that separates Israel from the countries of Syria and Jordan. Looking to the south, you can see the fertile farmlands of the Jezreel Valley spread out like a patchwork quilt on the floor until it reaches the rolling hills of Samaria. And looking to the west, sits the coastal plain next to the ancient city of Caesarea Maritima, the ancient port city constructed by King Herod, where the Apostle Paul set sail for Rome, carrying the Gospel to the West.
Jesus was casting a vision - a vision for a global movement of multiplication. He called his disciples to not just ‘make disciples’ but make disciples that multiply.1
This Great Commission passage starts with authority being given to Jesus and ends with “I am with you always to the end of the age.” We often focus on the going, on making disciples, baptizing, teaching, or the mechanics of planting churches—but Jesus’ words start and end with Himself—His authority and His presence.
Jesus is the central Person and burning core of the great commission, and we connect with Him, His authority, and His presence, through prayer. Prayer is the primary way that God has gifted to us to keep the main thing the main thing — Jesus himself at the center! Jesus has all authority, and He is with us — that is the start and finish of the Great Commission.
What is the Definition of a Disciple?
The word disciple literally means ‘follower of a master.’ At the time of Christ, a disciple wasn’t simply a learner of a great teacher (rabbi), but he/she was an apprentice or an imitator. Jesus called His first disciples to follow Him and do the things He did and say the things He said.
A simple definition of a disciple would be: one who has come to Jesus for eternal life, has claimed Him as Savior and God, and has embarked upon a life of following Him. A disciple loves God, loves people, and makes disciples that multiply!
The Three Marks of a Disciple:
We want to be disciples and make disciples worth reproducing, and according to Jesus, the marks of a disciple are threefold:
Abides in God’s Word, John 8:31-32
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Prayer is the very lifeblood of a disciple of Jesus! Jesus was clear that hearing Him – abiding in His word – is the most critical aspect of prayer. The word abiding implies remaining in constant fellowship and relationship. Prayer is the conversational part of the most essential love relationship in our lives!
Loves as Jesus Loves, John 13:34-35
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
One of the first and foremost ways that we love as Jesus loves is by praying for one another. We ask God to do for them what they cannot do for themselves.
Bears Fruit, John 15:7-8
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this, my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples”
According to Jesus, we bear fruit by abiding and asking in prayer. By this, the Father is glorified, and we prove to be his disciples.
Praying for Laborers
One of the keys to the fulfillment of the Great Commission is praying to the Lord of the Harvest for laborers to be sent forth. He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Luke 10:2).
The Greek word for prayer in this context is deomai, which means "desperate prayer.” Jesus said that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few; therefore, pray—pray fervently, pray with desperation!
As laborers go forth to proclaim the Gospel of the kingdom, it often comes with resistance. The devil has established spiritual strongholds over people, cities, and nations. Paul tells us that we have been given weapons of warfare to demolish strongholds and see breakthrough. (2 Cor. 10:4-5).
Power in Praying the Word
One of the most powerful weapons in prayer is God’s Word, the Sword of the Spirit. Paul commands us in Ephesians 6 to stand firm, putting on our armor by faith and then wield his word through prayer, praying at all times, for all peoples with all types of prayer (Eph. 6:10-19).
We first pray and declare the supremacy of Jesus over people and regions.
Through prayer, we ask the Father to bind and restrain the enemy, the principalities and powers that have blinded the minds of the unbelievers.
We pray for open doors, open heavens, open highways, and open hallways for the Gospel to go forth.
We ask the Lord to remove the blindness that the god of this age has placed over the unbelievers, that they might see the light of the Gospel in the face of Jesus.
We ask the Father to deliver us from the evil one, just as Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil.
As we offer our worship and praise to the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, His presence and light in our midst shatter spiritual darkness, and the power of God delivers families from every faith on earth to become wholehearted followers of Jesus Christ.
The Global Prayer Movement
We have seen a significant surge of worship and intercessory prayer launched in the 90s through to today. The Global Prayer Movement has seen remarkable acceleration.
The Koreans have contended in early morning prayer for decades, Marches for Jesus took place in streets around the world, the Global Day of Prayer filling stadiums, people prayer walking and praying for breakthrough in gateway cities of the world, the Indonesian prayer tower movement, the passion and fire of Latin and South American prayer meetings, the all night prayer vigils with fasting across the African continent, the travailing prayer movement throughout China, and Spirit-led corporate prayer times across India together with the fresh expression of houses of prayer and worship exploding in the nations.
Today, over a hundred million believers have united in prayer on four global days of prayer each year since 2022. And during this time, there have been astounding results in missions movements worldwide.
According to top missions researchers, the disciples and churches in these movements have grown exponentially at an astounding 23 percent annually, much faster than the global population. The total number of disciples in these movements has doubled every 3.5 years—a testimony to the potency of divine multiplication through prayer.
This global growth has occurred over four distinct stages:
From 1995 to 2000 - from 10,000 to over 100,000 disciples
From 2000 to 2005 - from 100,000 to over 1 million disciples
From 2005 to 2015 - from 1 million to over 10 million
From 2015 to 2024 - the number surpassed 100 million
As Christ-exalting, Bible Based, Worship-fed, Spirit-led, Love-motivated prayer is increasing in the nations, more disciples are being made, more churches are being planted, more Bibles are being translated, more signs, wonders, and miracles are being displayed, and more justice is being released to the poor, the marginalized, the orphan, and the widow!
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