On May 12, 1792 William Carey published a little pamphlet entitled, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens. By God’s grace, his words inspired the modern missionary movement, and by God’s grace, I’m praying that they will inspire a fresh passion for global missions at Glory of Christ.
Having addressed several issues that make engagement in global missions difficult, Carey turned his attention toward the subject of prayer. If it is true, he reasoned, that the Lord has given the Great Commission to his church, “it must be inferred that all Christians ought heartily to concur with God in promoting his glorious designs, for he that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit.” In other words, an integral part of being one with God in Christ is being on mission with God in the world. Even as the Father sent the Son, so now the Son sends his own (John 17:18), and even as the Son obeyed the Father, the Son calls on the church to obey him by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
As the church takes up this privileged call, Carey argues, “one of the first, and most important of our duties…is fervent and united prayer.” Fervent prayer is passionate prayer. It is earnest prayer. It is serious and joyful prayer. It is focused prayer. It is disciplined and constant and enduring prayer. Indeed, how shall we win even one soul to the Lord from the world without passionately and consistently calling his name when he alone can save? Evangelism, whether near or abroad, is not a matter of persuading people to believe, rather, it’s a matter of raising people from death to life. Since only God can do this, we must fervently call on his name in faith, hope, and love.
In addition to fervency, Carey says that we must pray with unity. The primary reason for this is not that the Lord requires us to agree before he will grant our requests, rather, it is that the Lord uses the process and outcomes of prayer to further his work in the lives of his people. That is, to be saved is to be one with God in Christ and one with every person who is also in Christ. Even as the Father sent the Son as an overflow of their unity, so the Son sends his own in the same way, with the added aim of unifying them all the more as they engage in his mission in the world. True mission flows from Christ-centered unity and it advances Christ-centered unity.
When the people of God call upon the name of God with the passion and unity that has been granted to them by God, he is pleased to hear and answer their prayers. Therefore, Carey concludes, “The most glorious works of grace that have ever took place, have been in answer to prayer; and it is in this way, we have the greatest reason to suppose, that the glorious out-pouring of the Spirit, which we expect at last, will be bestowed.” May we hear the wise counsel of our elder brother in Christ and pray for the grace to ourselves to passionate and united prayer for global missions!
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