“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my inquiry and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit in me.”
Psalm 51:1-10
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The author of Psalms 51 makes it abundantly clear: we are all born into sin. He states that “surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” This is a universal truth for each and every one of us. Even from the day that we were born, we were in need of a Savior. Thankfully, for many of us, there were people in our lives that shared this truth with us. We were able to accept Jesus as our Savior as we learned about the lengths God went to, so we could be set free from our sin.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for most others. Approximately 70,000 people will die today without ever having the opportunity to hear the gospel. These people are walking in sin and are on a path to judgment and eternal separation from God. And all too often we are apathetic to their plight. Jesus commanded his disciples to go into the world and make disciples of all people. Yet, we’re far too comfortable holding onto the good news we know and not sharing that good news with others.
Our hearts should break for what breaks God’s heart. He would desire that all people from all nations would come to know him and choose to follow him! Many of our global workers are on the frontlines in dangerous places across the globe sharing the gospel on a daily basis! But, we need more workers. 70,000 is not an insignificant number, and, if we want that to change, we have to be faithful to pray for God to send more workers!
As we ready ourselves for prayer today, ask God to show you what steps of obedience he is asking you to take.
Prayer for Those Who Are Being Sent:
Jesus, we are so thankful you came to earth, sent by the mercy of God to be the atonement for our sins. We ask you to forgive us for not sharing the good news of your forgiveness with the nations as You desire and call us to do. We ask forgiveness for the times we were supposed to go – whether across the street or around the world – and did not answer the call.
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If you’ve enjoyed this excerpt from our United in Prayer guide and would like to join us for our 21 Days of Prayer, we invite you, your church leaders, pastors, staff and congregation to unite with us. To access all of our resources and let us know that you are praying with us, click here: converge.org/21-days-united-in-prayer