Prayer Watch: Pray for National Bible Translators Working Under the Radar

Greetings in the name of Jesus, my dear prayer partner. As I read God’s Word about prayer this morning, I wanted Scripture to lead us to pray for the national Bible translation teams who are working in countries and communities where Christians are sought out for persecution. Right now, there are Bible translation teams working together—under the radar—who truly need us to pray for them. Let’s use Colossians 1 to pray for these faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. This is where I started:

For this reason, since the day we heard about you,
we have not stopped praying for you.
We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will
through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,
Colossians 1:9 (NIV)

“For this reason,” and the comma at the end, told me that there surely must be more before and after this verse. And yes, there is so much more that we can use to pray. In fact, we will pray over most of chapter one. As you read each line of the following Scripture, keep in mind the translators trying to concentrate on their work and at the same time trying not to be fearful working under the radar:

To God’s holy people . . . the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father. 
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus
and of the love you have for all God’s people—
the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven
and about which you have already heard
in the true message of the gospel
that has come to you.
Colossians 1:2-6 (NIV)

In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—
just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it
and truly understood God’s grace.
You learned it from . . . our dear fellow servant,
who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,
and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Colossians 1:7-8 (NIV)

Isn’t this Scripture wonderful to pray for the Bible translators, people whom our Wycliffe Associates staff and volunteers know personally? When our teams travel to lead the Bible translation workshops, they hear about the persecution these Bible translators face almost daily. As they share their stories with us, our hearts are changed, and we want to pray more. So, let’s pray over the next paragraph of Colossians Chapter 1 and continue to keep Bible translators around the world, though persecuted, determined to bring God’s Word to their people in their language. Let’s pray:

For this reason, since the day we heard about you,
we have not stopped praying for you.
We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will
through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,
so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and
please him in every way:
bearing fruit in every good work,
growing in the knowledge of God,
being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might
so that you may have great endurance and patience,
and giving joyful thanks to the Father,
who has qualified you to share in the inheritance
of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:9-15 (NIV)

What a sweet time this has been praying over God’s Word for our brothers and sisters who know and love the Lord Jesus and who are serving Him even though they face persecution. Their heart’s desire is to give the people that they love God’s Holy Word in their heart language. They pray that by providing Scripture in their heart language, lives will be changed and there will be “fruit in every good work.”

Thank you for praying with me. May the Lord God bless you richly as you give of your time and talent to those being persecuted because they love Jesus. And may we, each one, love Jesus more each day as we read God’s Word and pray.