Is it wrong to ask for God’s blessings?  That was the prayer of the Psalmist,

God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us— Selah.  (Psalm 67:1)

We see that the Psalmist’s motive was not simply for his own comfort and well being.  He had a much greater purpose,

That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations.  (Psalm 67:2)

The Psalmist’s desire was that all the nations would praise God and that God would reign in their hearts,

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for You will judge the peoples with uprightness and guide the nations on the earth. Selah.   Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You.  The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God, blesses us.  God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him.   (Psalm 67:4-7)

This Psalm was written approximately 3,000 years ago.  The great commission to go into the world and proclaim the Gospel was given 2,000 years ago.  There is nothing wrong with the command – if the great commission has not been fulfilled we must look at ourselves.  The church today needs what Leonard Ravenhill describes as “. . . -agonizing, hell-robbing, earth-shaking, heaven sent intercession”  (Revival God’s Way, p. 9).

Ravenhill points out that a primary reason why the great commission has not been fulfilled is because of our anemic prayer lives,

The self-satisfied do not want to pray.
The self-sufficient do not need to pray.
The self-righteous do not know how to pray.

Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few”  (Matthew 9:37).  His answer reveals our strategic response,

Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.  (Matthew 9:38)

Prayer is the strategic high ground.   The fulfillment of the great commission starts with prayer but it doesn’t end there.  We see in the next chapter that the disciples became the answer to their prayers as Jesus sent them out into the harvest field.

Too often we allow the good things to usurp the place of the best things.  You have a role to play in fulfilling the great commission.  Some are called to go cross-culturally and take the Gospel to a foreign country.  Some are called to be senders to support those on the front lines.  All of us have a role to play – some are goers and some are senders.  What’s your role?

The Psalmist reveals to us God’s will for the nations,

That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations.  (Psalm 67:2)

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

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