EDITORIAL

WHY 10 DAYS OF PRAYER SHOULD BE A PRIORITY

BY TIM ALLAN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

CORPORATE prayer has the power to change lives, to change communities and to change organisations.

That is why we so want everyone in SIM to join our 10 Days of Prayer this year and, indeed, every year.

We all know there is value in praying privately, on your own. God hears all our prayers.

But the sense of shared joy, shared purpose and shared commitment when we pray together can have profound impacts on those who pray — and on those being prayed for.

Indeed, as we pray for the name of Jesus to be made known in communities where he is least known, it can have eternal impact.

As SIM workers, we are bound together by the same mission, vision and purpose. No matter where we work, no matter whether we are sent workers or staff, no matter where we come from in the world, we all want to see more people come into relationship with Jesus Christ. We long to make disciples of the Lord Jesus in communities across the globe.

We have all signed up to that commitment, but sharing in prayer helps bring our shared purpose alive. As we re-state our mission through prayer, we re-commit to playing our part in achieving those goals.

This year’s devotionals focus on the unique qualities of God, as revealed by the way he describes himself in the Old Testament. Through them, we discover truths about God’s character, purposes, priorities, and capabilities. A deep and intimate relationship with someone is impossible without self-disclosure and sharing. So, we thank God for revealing himself so that we may draw closer to him.

Of course, there is much to pray about, both in the world and in SIM. We think of the global pandemic, the many places where war and conflict reign, and of the many people struggling for even the most basic necessities.

Within SIM, we want to keep the search for a new International Director before God, as well as the ongoing challenges of doing ministry in increasingly sensitive contexts and the everpresent need for workers.

But our greatest need is for God’s guidance, wisdom and leadership, as we seek to fulfil his global mission. The 10 Days of Prayer will help give us a greater understanding of how he wants our work to proceed.

Please take time to pause from your routines and give yourselves wholeheartedly to pray with SIM’s global family during our 10 Days of Prayer.

While we can pray on our own, we have this unique privilege of expressing our oneness and celebrating our unity in the body of Christ.

To find the full range of 10 Days of Prayer resources in several languages please go to www. sim.org/pray-with-us/resources prayer.

WHY DO WE HAVE 10 DAYS OF PRAYER?

Many people in SIM wonder how the 10 Days of Prayer came to be an annual event in our organisation.

It dates back to the early 1990s, to the time when we merged with the Africa Evangelical Fellowship. It had long been part of their tradition and so it became part of ours; first as a way to honour their heritage and then as a key part of our DNA.

The 10 Days of Prayer event moves around the calendar each year, because it is always the 10 days from Ascension Day to the Day of Pentecost.

This year, we will be praying together from Thursday, May 26 to Saturday, June 4.