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Depending on God in Prayer
From the General Director
This is the second Witness in a five-part series that explores Multiply’s Foundational Values. The first was “Joining God on his mission.”
Recently, I was visiting the church-planting teams in Germany with Johann Matthies, our Regional Team Leader for Europe and Central Asia. We had a simple agenda with each team: listen to their stories and pray together. As we did this, we were humbled. The centrality of prayer and our complete dependence on God emerged again and again as we listened and prayed.
Our prayer life allows us to process our own story as we enter more fully into God’s great story, inviting his kingdom to come and his will to be done in all its fullness. Eugene Peterson, well known pastor, author, and translator of The Message, says in his book, Tell it Slant, that stories and prayers are the core language of our humanity. He writes, “We say most truly who we are when we tell stories to one another and pray to our Lord.”
Today, our world is soaked with information, but it seems like we don’t hear each other’s stories very often. Even though we have more means to connect, we have become so isolated. We need to take the time more often to simply ask people to tell their stories, and then listen well and long. If we did that, we would be able to discern how our stories intersect with God’s story, and it would lead us to much deeper prayer.
Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Good storytelling requires deliberate pauses, just like good conversation, to allow listeners to enter into the story. In the same way, we need to pause at times in our prayers, to listen to God’s voice in the silence. When we express our heartfelt longings to God, and then we listen quietly, God will often nudge us with the whispers of his love and the invitations of his kingdom, through his Word and by his Spirit.
Prayer has so many postures and expressions: worship and thankfulness, intercession for others, declaration and lament, confession and repentance, and listening for the still, small voice of God. There are more, I’m sure. Prayer is at the heart of this kingdom life we are invited to live. And yet, we
struggle at times to pray. At least, so it seems for most of us, based on the honest conversations I have had with myself and others around this topic.
I take great encouragement from the Scriptures that are filled with life-giving, raw, lofty, and even dark, expressions of prayer. They guide us and resonate with the full range of our emotional experiences as God’s people. In particular, the Psalms give us courage to pray as boldly and honestly as its authors pray. Each of their prayers is a guide to lead us from the mundane into uncharted territories of authentic intimacy with God.
One trellis of prayer that I have found most helpful over the years is the Lord’s Prayer. It’s a simple prayer that Jesus taught his disciples when they asked him to teach them to pray. This prayer is situated almost in the exact center of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), and it seems to hold this great teaching all together and bring it to life. In his book about the Lord’s Prayer, Fifty-Seven Words that Changed the World, pastor and author, Darrell Johnson, describes it this way: “A mere fifty-seven words in the original Greek of Matthew’s Gospel, it manages to gather up all of life and bring it before God.”
One of the great gifts of this prayer is that it frees us from the anxiety about whether or not we are praying in a way that pleases God.
Most mornings, I pray through the specific phrases of the Lord’s prayer. Every phrase causes me to pause and allows the Spirit to remind me of specific people and situations. As I pray, I am grounding my story and the story of others into God’s story.
The Lord’s prayer has been a great help to me. What helps to hold you in prayer?
I am also encouraged as I think about how Jesus prays for us and intercedes on our behalf. In the Book of Hebrews, we are reminded that he delights in doing so (7:25) and, as the ultimate high priest who prays on our behalf and offers himself as our living sacrifice, he gives us full and complete access to the Living God.
As we participate in God’s great mission story—sending, partnering and multiplying—we are completely dependent on God in prayer. Throughout this edition of Witness, you will hear from others who are passionate about prayer and who are learning important lessons about depending on God in prayer. May God lead us to deeper intimacy, peace, and power in our life with God in prayer.
Bruce Enns General Director
Listening and praying together: Johann Matthies and Bruce Enns with Kristina and Gedas Dailyde, church leaders and ministry partners in Lithuania
Learning Dependence
- A Conversation About Prayer -
Stephen Humber, US Team Lead and Regional Mobilizer for East of the Rockies, sat down with Janet McMahon of Zoar (MB) Church in Inman, Kansas, and Vanlalhmachhuani (Amy) Gelatt of North Oak Community (MB) Church in Hays, Kansas.
Stephen: How has your own story shaped your prayer life?
Amy: I think of my life as a series of interruptions. I keep telling God, This is what I want. This is how it should be done. And God says, No, I want this for you. I want you to do it this way. I often feel like Jonah, and sometimes like Peter. I was born in India and, as a young adult, I was part of the founding faculty of a mission school. But it was in a challenging location where locals kept threatening to burn the school down. Those were crazy times, but I was happily serving there, when I got a letter saying that I was accepted at a Bible school in the States. I didn’t think it was possible. I guess I’m a slow learner, but prayer has been the place where I argue with God, reason with God, and surrender to God. When you get to the place of surrender, even though nothing makes sense in the natural, God gives us this amazing sense of peace. I thought I would be a single missionary in some other part of the world, but I ended up in the U.S. asking questions like, Should I be married? Do I want to stay in America? And it was so clear that God wanted me here. At Bible college, I met my husband, Josh, who became a pastor in a small town in Kansas. I had told God I never wanted to be a pastor’s wife, but he had a better plan for me. I surrendered. Now in Hays, which is only 20,000 people, God sent me a family of thirteen Afghan refugees, and I’m their missionary!
Janet: My husband, Mike, and I served as English teachers in China for twenty-five years. When we first moved from the U.S. to China, nothing was familiar and there were no comfort zones for us. So we learned quickly to become dependent on God. We just had to open our hands and say again and again in every situation, Not my will, but yours be done. And then we just had to wait on him and not run forward thinking that we knew the plan. But God went before us, and he prepared the way. We learned that through prayer and through a greater dependence on him. When you’re in a foreign country, everything you need in terms of provision, protection, and wisdom, God will give you. But you have to spend time in prayer, in relationship, and in learning to be dependent on him.
Stephen: How about you, Amy? You talked about surrender, but what have you learned about dependence on God?
Amy: My starting point, especially when I moved to the States, was always feeling inferior. I had this desperate desire to fit in. I was full of fear, and I was asking God, Can you really use someone like me here? I was not operating from a place of confidence. But I recalled that, even though Jesus was God, he started as a baby in the manger. I heard his voice saying to me, Why are you so
afraid? I started at the bottom too. And he also said things like, “the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing…” Jesus was sent on a mission, but he kept sneaking away to pray because he wanted to be in step with the Father’s mission. So I knew I didn’t need to serve God from a position of confidence. It was like God was saying to me, No, Amy, you will never be self-confident. You will share my words shaking in your boots all the time. That’s the way God designed it, so that we keep asking him for strength and for guidance about what we should be doing.
Stephen: What do you see happening in your local church?
Amy: To me, it’s like the growth of children. When my kids were young, they said to me, “I love you, Mommy.” And those were beautiful words to hear. But when my adult son sends me a text that says, “Mom, I deeply, deeply love you,” it means that much more, because we’ve been through hills and valleys together, and that love has been tested. When I was younger, I was like Peter, saying, “Lord, I’ll die for you.” It was raw passion, and I think it was still beautiful in the Lord’s ears. But since then, I’ve experienced years of struggle in my faith and many unanswered prayers, and that has actually been a blessing to me, because it has tested my love for him. For me, prayer has become less and less about telling God what to do, and more about asking him what he wants. I’m learning to pray more like John the Baptist, who said, “I must decrease, so that he might increase.”
Janet: When our mission team prays together, we are more unified, and we make decisions much more smoothly. Prayer just opens us up to the Lord’s wisdom and guidance. That’s been key for us. And when we invite the congregation to pray for our missionaries, they become more aware of their personal needs and global needs, and they feel more connected. Prayer is a real connecting force.
Amy: I like that. Prayer connects us with God and with other people. Our church family is very generous in giving to missions. But sometimes giving can stand in the way of praying. Please hear me out. Sometimes, we need to be empty and desperate before God, because that’s where we learn dependence on him. Sometimes, it’s easier to give money to someone rather than giving yourself to them. I was telling a friend recently about how she could help these people in need, and I told her, “Go spend time with them. It’s not the money they need. They need you.” So she went to them, and she couldn’t understand their language, but they sat together, they used sign language, and they laughed a lot. And I said, “That’s exactly what I mean. Bring laughter to their lives. Just help them understand that you love them.”
Stephen: How has your understanding of prayer grown?
Stephen: How would you like to encourage readers to pursue depending on God in prayer?
Amy: Remember that self-sufficiency is truly a disadvantage. Anything that makes us desperate for God is a good thing. So, I would say, “Surrender to what God is doing in your life. Let go. Abandon yourself to him.” He said in John 15, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” But he also said, “With God, nothing is impossible.” It’s two sides of the same coin. Do you trust God? Do you really love him? Depending on God means being completely satisfied with him, to be content that he is enough.
Janet: Paul said, “pray without ceasing.” When we learn to keep up a continual conversation with Jesus throughout the day, whether it’s thinking, or praising, or just asking for wisdom, that’s really what depending on God is all about. We open our hearts and hands in prayer, and we just wait on him to answer.
LEARN
Multiply provides training initiatives designed to equip everyday disciples for living on God’s mission. Prayer Ministry Training supports individuals and teams seeking to grow in the practice of effective, hands-on personal prayer, using the model of the Lord’s Prayer. To learn more, go to multiply.net/prayer-ministry
Prayer and Paracetamol
NAMIBIA | By Nikki White
Why me? she wondered morosely, looking at the medical chart. If my own professors—those who trained me as a doctor in the first place—cannot help this poor woman, why send her to me?
Esperance Mukuyabisabo was a general practitioner in her home country of Burundi before she and her family fled due to the war. After arriving in neighboring Namibia, she became certified in obstetrics and gynecology and began a new practice there. However, she did not feel either qualified or inclined to take on the challenge of a patient who had been infertile for almost ten years. Nor was infertility her only issue; the woman had a long-term vaginal discharge, a serious infection which was resistant to treatment.
Esperance put the chart back down on her desk and sighed deeply. It was almost time to open the clinic, and she expected that the patient was already there in the waiting room.
Pushing her chair back, Esperance did what she did every day, as a doctor and as a follower of Jesus. Kneeling on the floor of her office, she prayed, “God, bring me only the patients that you have chosen for me, the ones destined to be touched by Jesus, the Great Physician.”
As she knelt, it occurred to her: Perhaps this was why the specialists and professors had sent the woman to her in the first place. Her colleagues knew about her faith in Jesus, and the high value she placed on prayer. Perhaps, she thought, it is the Lord’s plan for me to play a role in her healing. Perhaps prayer is the one treatment that has yet to be offered.
Getting up off the floor and dusting off her knees, she felt more confident. She opened the door to her waiting room and immediately saw a woman look up, raw hope etched into her face. “Come,” Esperance said, ushering the woman into her examining room. “My name is Esperance, and I am going to take care of you.”
“Please,” the woman pleaded, looking into her eyes. “No one else could help us. Can you? I have heard many testimonies
of divine healing from your patients, even from your colleagues. Can you help us to have a baby?”
“Listen to me,” Esperance said, looking deeply into the woman’s eyes. “You have a bad infection, but that can be dealt with. But a baby? For that, we must ask God. We must trust in Jesus—the Way, the Truth and the Life. Nothing is impossible for him.”
“No one else could help us. Can you? I have heard many testimonies of divine healing from your patients, even from your colleagues.”
At this, Esperance saw a small smile begin to form on the woman’s lips. Good, she thought. There is faith here.
After a thorough examination, the woman allowed Esperance to pray for her. But when the woman got up to leave the clinic, asking for a prescription for the infection, Esperance shook her head emphatically. “No!” she said. “I am going to admit you, and you must agree to stay here for three days. Every day, we will pray, and I will monitor you. Are you willing to do that?” Taken aback, the woman nodded.
Realizing that she would need to justify to the medical authorities a three-day stay for her patient, but also sensing that God intended to heal this woman without medical intervention, Esperance decided to write out a treatment plan that included three days of prescription medication for a generic painkiller, Paracetamol. However, the woman was bewildered when Esperance said, “You can take the medication, but in truth, only God can heal you.”
On the second day, the discharge and pain were gone. The woman got up and got dressed, preparing to leave. Esperance came in and stopped her. “We have not prayed enough,” she said. “Get back into bed!”
Meekly, the woman obeyed. After three days of prayer, Esperance did a final test, saw that the infection was gone, and sent her home. Within six weeks, the woman was back, pregnant.
The two women praised God together for this miracle, and scheduled subsequent appointments so that the pregnancy could be carefully monitored.
However, almost six months passed and the woman did not reappear at the clinic. Until one day, Esperance opened the clinic door after her morning prayers and saw the woman in her waiting room again. Right away, she could see that something was wrong.
“I have not felt the baby move for one week,” the woman confessed, weeping. “There is blood, and the infection is back.”
Esperance closed her eyes and took a deep breath, steeling herself for the worst. It was almost certain that the baby was dead. Still, reaching out to the Lord silently, she felt that she was not to give up easily. “Come,” she said, helping the distraught woman to her feet, “we have many tests to do.”
Praying silently and fervently, Esperance completed a lengthy physical examination and listened intently for a fetal heartbeat. She heard nothing, and she felt her spirit sinking. Composing her face, she instructed the woman to prepare for an ultrasound. She moved slowly, praying all the while, pretending to fuss with blood samples and urine sample, labeling random bottles. An hour later, she finally turned on the machine, angling the screen so that only she could see the images. Not only was there no movement, and no heartbeat, but Esperance could see the beginnings of fetal tissue decay: overlapping skull bones, distorted anatomy, soft tissue edema, a gas shadow in the fetal heart.
The baby was dead. She could tell it had been dead for weeks.
“Is something wrong?” the woman asked, panicked by the doctor’s silence. “Should we pray more?”
Oh Jesus, Esperance thought desperately. What do I tell her? I know you can raise the dead! But should I raise her hopes? Even as she pasted a false smile on her face, Esperance could feel the sweat pouring down her body. “Don’t worry,” she assured the woman, her voice cracking. “I just need to do a few more tests, a few more measurements.”
As the minutes ticked by, Esperance prayed as she had never prayed before. Nothing changed on the screen. For over an hour, Esperance pretended to take measurements, pleading with God in silence. Lord, you brought her to me to be healed. This is your responsibility, not mine. You are the resurrection and the life!
Then, suddenly, a movement. At first, it was barely discernible. Then a faint palpitation of the fetal heart. A moment later, it repeated. Then a tiny foot twitched, and a regular pulse began. Esperance watched, hardly breathing, as the shadow over the heart disappeared. Hands shaking, she turned the screen around to the mother. “Your baby is fine,” she announced, her voice husky with emotion, “but you were right. It was dead when you came here.”
Shocked, the woman listened to the account of what had just transpired. In deep conviction, she asked God to forgive her for not having continued to pray, and committed herself to being faithful in following Jesus. As Esperance ushered her back out of the clinic, the woman turned to say, “Wait! What about the infection?”
Esperance nearly laughed out loud. If God could bring a baby back to life, there was little reason to worry about an infection! But she would need to justify the lengthy examination. Grabbing a pad of paper, Esperance scribbled a hasty note, for another prescription of Paracetamol, saying, “Keep praying, and come back for more tests in three days.”
A few months later, a healthy baby was born.
GIVE
Consider providing financial support for the SubSaharan Africa Team, which oversees churchplanting efforts in several countries, including Namibia. Esperance currently serves with this multigifted, multi-visional, and multi-locational team.
To learn more, go to multiply.net/project/ subsaharan-africa-team
Dr. Esperance has a reputation for praying for the impossible
thank you for your faithful prayers
These are the well-used copies of our People & Prayer guide and handwritten notes, belonging to an intercessor named Katie Grieve in Port Alberni, B.C. who prays daily for Multiply workers, partners and staff.
To receive our Daily Prayer Guide and keep up with prayer requests from our global workers and national partners, go to
To view our People & Prayer online, go to multiply.net/dpg multiply.net/people-and-prayer-2024
Praying at SOAR
CANADA | By Mark J.H. Klassen and Matt Braun
In March 2024, Multiply’s Central Canada team hosted SOAR Heartland in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The seven-day mission training program saw 367 participants come from eighteen different churches to engage with God’s mission in that city and beyond.
One of the core values that was clearly embraced at SOAR was prayer. The following profiles give a glimpse into how that value was experienced throughout each day.
Morning: Prayer Room
Connor Gerbrandt, Youth Pastor at Anchor Point Church in Winnipeg came to SOAR for the first time and brought twenty-three youth from his church.
At Westwood Community Church where SOAR was hosted, there was a room set aside where leaders and participants alike could go to pray in the morning before breakfast. It was meant to be an hour of quiet space before the busy day began.
“On the first morning, I went to that space alone,” Connor recalled. “I fell to my knees and wept. I had arrived at SOAR exhausted. I remember praying the words of that song, ‘God, I look to you, I won’t be overwhelmed, give me vision to see things like you do.’”
Connor’s prayer was answered immediately. “In an instant, I was strengthened,” he testified. “It solidified for me the importance of these early morning prayer times.”
The next morning, Connor brought his other leaders to the prayer room. “As we prayed that morning, God gave us very specific things to pray for individuals in our group. We prayed strength for some, health and healing for others, and courage for us all.”
Throughout the day, Connor and his leadership team watched in amazement as each prayer they prayed was answered. “The sick were healed, the uncertain were emboldened, and God was praised,” he reported.
The following day was similar, and the next. By the end of the fourth day, Connor was so full of faith that he brought his whole team to the prayer room. “There was just something so special about that time in that place,” he said. “It allowed for a oneness with God that few of us had ever experienced. We received energy, joy, and alertness as we all knelt before the throne of God in reverent worship, ready for whatever God had for us.”
By the final morning of SOAR, Connor’s entire team was transformed. “God had thoroughly impressed us. Two of our girls heard God’s voice like never before and, as a result, became fully surrendered to him. Three youth decided to get baptized. Others received spiritual gifts. Many gave up
their idols of fear, control, and self-reliance. God’s power was made perfect in our weakness.”
Connor not only saw dramatic changes in his own team, but he saw similar signs of spiritual transformation in other teams as well. “That final morning, the prayer room was full of youth and leaders from other churches too. We prayed and sang together, sharing encouragement and prophecies. We even lingered into breakfast time, preferring the presence of Jesus over the freshest cinnamon buns!”
According to Connor, SOAR was unique because of prayer. “I can honestly say that I have never had such a prolonged encounter with the LORD. From the moment my knees hit the carpet in that prayer room, I was filled anew with the Holy Spirit. All twenty-three of us were impacted—our lives will never be the same.”
Afternoon: On Assignment
Kevin Yang, Youth Ministry Leader at Cariboo Bethel Church in William’s Lake, British Columbia also brought a team to SOAR Heartland for the first time.
For their service assignment, Kevin and his team were asked to serve children at the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM). “Our time there was absolutely wonderful,” Kevin reported. “As soon as we stepped into the building, we were greeted by the warm smiles of the staff and the loud excitement of the kids. We quickly fell in love with these people.”
Since IRCOM is not a church-based organization, Kevin and his team had to approach their ministry with some sensitivity. “On our second day, we arrived early and asked the staff for their permission to pray before serving. Without hesitation, they allowed us to freely use their space to prepare.”
Kevin and his team sat in a circle and opened their Bibles. As they started to share their reflections with one another from the daily reading, one of the staff approached them, asking, “Can I join you?”
“Of course!” Kevin answered, later recalling how thrilled the team was to include the staff member in the group. “We invited him in and, although he was from a Muslim background, he was fully engaged, with a noticeable sense of curiosity.”
The next day, the team did the same, arriving on site early for team devotions and prayer. As they began, the same staff member joined again, but this time he brought a friend as well. “We were amazed by how much they were drawn to our practice of reflecting on the Scriptures and praying for one another.”
During their afternoons of service at IRCOM, the staff asked Kevin and his team about their faith, which opened up several wonderful conversations about their love for Jesus. “It was incredibly meaningful,” said Kevin, “realizing that God brought us there not only to serve the kids, but also to bless the staff. And it was corporate prayer that opened that door of opportunity to represent Jesus to them.”
Evening: Team Debrief
Denver Wilson, Youth Pastor at Eastview Community Church in Winnipeg brought a team of high school students to SOAR. After the program, Denver said, “One of the most impactful aspects of SOAR was our evening times of team prayer.”
According to Denver, the SOAR schedule was intense, packing in a variety of team and individual experiences into each day. “Building a rhythm of daily prayer helped our team to stay connected,” he said, “to sift through the collection of moments, and to bring all of our experiences before God.”
Prior to SOAR, Denver’s team was not that well-connected, but as they prayed together, they saw trust and community develop. “Cliques were not a concern,” he said gratefully. “Each person could share and feel supported by every other member of the team. When we shared encouraging words with each other, many felt personally addressed by God. When we prayed in smaller circles while washing each other’s feet, there was a tangible sense of vulnerability and intimacy. We came together as an expression of the community that Jesus was forming.”
Denver loved watching how his students wrestled with God in prayer, bringing their desires in submission to God’s desires. “I saw one student struggle with God’s abundant love for Winnipeg. At first, he just couldn’t see it. But as the week went on, God continued to challenge him to have faith in his saving power, and we watched his faith grow.”
Another student in Denver’s group felt led to pray specifically that the SOAR experience would lead to more baptisms in their church. Only weeks later, eight youth at Eastview were baptized, five of which were at SOAR. Denver concluded, “Those seeds of prayer at SOAR bore incredible fruit.”
GO
Consider sending a team from your church to a SOAR near you.
To learn more, go to multiply.net/soar
When There’s No Burning Bush
BURUNDI | By Travis Jost
*This story was previously published in the online version of Christian Leader, the magazine of the US Mennonite Brethren.
The awe-inspiring miracle of the burning bush in Moses’ story certainly gets my attention. I would sum up the Exodus 3 account with the salacious headline: “Bush on fire calls man by name.” However, the most inspiring aspect of the story is, in my opinion, not the miracle itself but the interaction between Moses and God.
After God gets Moses’ attention through the visual gesture of a burning bush, Moses is obviously curious. Verse four says, “When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’” to which he responds with an open posture, “Here I am.”
As God proceeds to identify himself and to instruct, encourage, and empower Moses, the man is fully engaged in the interaction, yet he also expresses his doubts and fears—important to note.
Looking back on my journey from a banking career in Kansas to living in Burundi, Africa, I can see parallels to this story. Selfishly, I wanted a burning bush moment. I remember asking God, “If I’m standing before a bush on fire and it’s not burning up and it’s talking to me, I’ll do whatever it says. No questions. Help me out, Lord. Please, I’m asking.”
Looking for a sign
In the fall of 2016, I wanted a clear sign for my next step. I was well along in my professional career, and I was successful and comfortable. But then I found myself at an event hosted by Multiply. I was quick to disqualify myself from embracing this type of event, but I did want something more of God and my curiosity pushed me through the tension to take a step forward.
I felt wholly out of place at the event because of my imposed expectations, but I was still engaged. During the small group time, our leader asked the group, “What seems impossible to you?”
I blurted out: “Living in a foreign country with no job seems impossible to me.”
I knew it was a bizarre reply. I was asking myself, Is that why I’m attending this event? Is that the goal here? The analytical, practical, linear-thinking banker in me was perplexed. I didn’t know what I was saying, but that was my response.
After the event, I realized I never got my burning bush. I had a litany of scrambled thoughts and not much clarity. My only response was to proclaim, “Lord, I’m available.” It wasn’t until later in my journey that I saw the parallel with Moses’ response, “Here I am.”
At a crossroads
Soon after, I found myself navigating the interview process with Multiply and I was at a retreat center in northern Washington, surrounded by towering pine trees, tumbling rivers, soft grass, cooler temperatures, and several nature trails.
During the multiple-day interview, participants were led into an intentional time of silence focused solely on hearing from God. No talking with other participants or staff or guests. This was a new experience for me.
I was led on a walk. Instead of basking in the natural beauty curated on the property, I decided to venture outside the campus. I retraced the mile-long driveway leading to the property. Halfway along my walk, I thought to myself, This is foolish. Why are you out here? You could be hiking and enjoying the nature trails and instead you’re on this pavement, walking next to soggy, uninspiring grasslands.
Yet I continued. The end of the driveway intersected a road with options to turn right or left. I did neither. I crossed the intersection and stood under a tree. As I turned to face the road I had just walked down, a road sign caught my attention: “Dead End.”
I felt God saying to me, “You can’t go back the way you came. You can’t go back to the life you were living. That way is a dead end.”
I was at a crossroads. The road to my right was obscured with many peaks and valleys. To me, this represented an adventurous path full of unknowns. The road to my left was evident with a long downward slope which turned to the left at the bottom of the hill. To me, this represented a familiar path of security and comfort. Which path appealed to me?
In the silence, God was definitely speaking to me, but his voice was not audible, and nothing was burning. My God and I were responding in kind, sharing thoughts and feelings. I expressed my doubts, but stayed engaged. I wanted to get to the next step, but did not know what that meant.
If I can’t go back, where do I go? The time of solitude with God opened me to his response. Away from the praise and affirmation that I sought from humans, I needed him to tell me. I needed time with him to fully listen. It was just like the Moses story—an honest conversation with God.
God speaks clearly
My biggest fear during my journey was missing what God had for me. I had put a lot of pressure on myself to experience the burning bush. I did not want to miss it. I expected it to be blazing and speaking English!
Further along, God used others to speak to me. During my training time with Multiply, I was invited to accept an assignment in Burundi. It stood alone. I called a mentor of mine to weigh this invitation. After some discussion, he asked, “Do you have any other options?” I thought for a moment and then answered, “Nope.”
Through his question and my response, I could hear what God was saying. It was clear. Burundi was the place. What more did I need to hear? What was I waiting for? I wanted Moses’ burning bush moment, but I came to realize my response was his desire.
The more I journey with our creative God, the more I embrace the response: his and mine. The God of mystery who shaped the mountains, who created the wind reveals his thoughts to me. My act of obedience is my response: physical, verbal, prayerful, hopeful. As I honor my relationship with God through my response, he leads me into the places he has prepared for me.
SERVE
Does Travis’ story inspire you? Is God calling you to long-term global ministry?
Consider FOCUS Training with Multiply.
Learn more at multiply.net/focus
Travis, with Joël, a Burundian colleague: “I could hear what God was saying. It was clear. Burundi was the place.”
Pray First, Pray Together
BRAZIL
| By Nikki White
An Interview with Franz Wolf, Coordinator of Multiply’s Latin American Expansion Team, and overseer of mission training programs in Brazil, where he lives with his wife, Doris.
Nikki: Not that long ago, you were facing burn-out. How did that happen?
Franz: I had been working hard for four years, without really taking time for real rest. I was never offline. The regular, ordinary challenges of everyday ministry began to feel heavy, but I never stopped long enough to recognize what was happening. Then, in January 2024, we had a week full of meetings and I finally realized that I was feeling no joy—no joy in anything I had accomplished, and no joy in anything that I was doing. I looked back over the last four years, and I saw only my failures.
Nikki: How did that impact you personally—your marriage, your ministry?
Franz: For some time, I was completely lost. I had no desire to do anything. I saw my regular
responsibilities as impossibly heavy burdens, and I couldn’t pull myself together enough to do any of them. Because of this, I became a lot less productive, a lot less active, which made me feel like a failure. I spent many hours reflecting on that feeling. Doris, my wife, suffered through this with me, because I was absent, even when I was with her. It was awful.
Nikki: What changes were you challenged to make?
Franz: I had already been connecting online with Derek Parenteau, a Multiply co-worker who is a great friend and a blessing to my ministry. During this time, I reached out to him even more. We began to meet every two weeks to worship and pray together, sometimes multiple times in a week when things got really bad! Derek helped me realize that I was going through a process of grief. Being
Franz and Doris Wolf in Brazil: “As leaders, we often push ourselves to achieve, to be successful, to appear triumphant, to make no mistakes... but eventually, it breaks us.”
together as brothers in our Father’s presence has been an incredible blessing. Our times of prayer led me to start discovering joy again. Worship and prayer removed the weight of negative emotions and helped me to receive direction from the Holy Spirit. I began to see a clearer path forward.
The healing and freedom I experienced through praying with Derek led me to reassess how I was doing ministry. Since then, our meetings have been completely different. No matter what is on the agenda, we start with a significant time of prayer. We take our time in the presence of God, not focusing on the agenda. At first, when we did this, some people felt the pressure of running short on time, for important decisions that needed to be made that day. But when we removed that sense of urgency, everyone began to enjoy our meetings more.
Nikki: What fruit have you seen as a result of this new emphasis on prayer?
Franz: I used to talk a lot about seeking to be guided by God, but I see now that I didn’t leave much space for us to do this as a team. I was always focused on the agenda. Now, we pray as a team, seeking only his presence. This gives us more unity. After that, decisions are so much easier to make. After these times of prayer, we feel like we are in a common space, with a common voice and a united perspective. It’s like in the Book of Acts! It’s amazing how, even with less time to address the agenda, our meetings have actually become more productive!
Nikki: How did that impact you personally?
Franz: The weight has fallen from my shoulders, and team members are now interacting much more personally than before. There is a community being built, not just an environment of work.
Nikki: What advice do you have for other leaders?
Franz: This is an awkward question, because I don’t feel like I have figured it all out. But what I can say is to repeat the words I once heard from Phillip Serez: “It is all real. Our God is truly real.” As leaders, we often push ourselves to achieve, to be successful, to appear triumphant, to make no mistakes. This may motivate and energize us for a while, but eventually it breaks us. Over time, that performance mentality wears us out.
Also, we must not minister alone, or walk alone. Derek has been a key brother to help me see this. He brings
me before the Lord when I am too broken to do that for myself. We must all walk with someone very closely, someone who knows the good, the bad, and the ugly in our life, and who will seek the Lord for us and with us.
The Word is also important. When I was still in the dark, God used the Scriptures to call me out of the cave I was in. One story was 1 Samuel 30. David and his men had been away fighting, when their village was raided, and their children and wives taken. In their profound sorrow, David’s men blamed him. David would have taken that very hard, because of his soft heart. But at this critical moment, he did not rush into action, nor allow himself to dwell in the mud of self-pity. He came into God’s presence to pray. Once God spoke to him, David led his men to recover, to God’s glory, all that had been taken.
When we have the responsibility to lead others, we cannot allow ourselves to dwell in the caves of self-pity or allow urgency to push us into action.
When we have the responsibility to lead others, we cannot allow ourselves to dwell in the caves of self-pity or allow urgency to push us into action. Our God is real. We must seek him first, and we must seek him together. Sometimes I even call my teams to fast before we worship and pray—those are real instructions from the Bible, from a real God who wants to answer us in very personal ways.
So, my advice would be: Back to the basics! Pray first, and pray in community, seeking God for who he is, before you seek him about making and implementing decisions. Read Scripture together and seek to understand it, in community. Walk very closely with others, especially people who are different from you. Let them know you, pray for you, and speak into your life. Above all, have faith! Know that the Father loves you dearly, and truly wants to manifest his presence in your life.
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