Focused prayer, kingdom results by Wycliffe Bible Translators

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How to use this pack .................................................................................................................................... 3 How to run a prayer event .......................................................................................................................... 4 Quick ideas for prayer events ............................................................................................................ 6 Stories to inspire your prayers ................................................................................................................... 8 Praying for mission workers ...................................................................................................................... 11 Where to get prayer resources ................................................................................................................ 12 Using â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;infosheetsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to pray .......................................................................................................................... 13 What should I pray for ongoing projects? ...................................................................................... 14 Lord, bless Justin! .............................................................................................................................. 15 What should I pray for a people group without Scripture? ........................................................... 17 What should I pray for people groups with parts of the Bible? .................................................... 19 What should I pray for a nearly finished New Testament? .......................................................... 21 What should I pray for people groups with the New Testament? ............................................... 23 About Wycliffe Bible Translators ............................................................................................................. 24

I believe prayer works! I couldn’t be Wycliffe’s prayer coordinator if I didn’t. It’s why I pester the rest of my colleagues with my constant refrain, ‘How can we pray for that?’ What is more, I believe that prayer must underpin all we do because by praying we remember that the battle belongs to God.

have the word of God in their heart language to the projects that are nearing the finish line. We have stories and verses to motivate and inspire you. If, when you’ve read through the pack, you need further ideas, get in touch and we’ll do our best to help you.

It’s because I believe that prayer is so important that I’ve Jo Johnson put together this pack filled with different ways to pray for the world and especially Bible translation. There are Prayer coordinator ideas for holding a prayer event and it tells you where to Wycliffe Bible Translators UK go for up-to-date information and resources. It contains suggestions of ways to pray for individual mission workers and for projects from those who are yet to

God answers our prayers in surprising ways. In the run-up to the launch of the Sango Bible, Wycliffe had been urgently seeking to raise prayer support for the event. The Sango language is spoken in the Central African Republic, and fighting the country had already delayed the launch twice. Just two days before the launch tensions erupted again. There was fighting and increased looting. The depot of the Bible Society, where the new Sango Bibles were being stored, was ransacked. Things looked bleak, but then we received this update: Thank you for praying for the Sango Bible launch. It did go ahead peacefully. It was described as being dignified but joyful. We also have more information on the looted Bibles. While we originally heard that most of the Bibles were destroyed, thankfully this turned out not to be the case. Although some were destroyed, others have since appeared for sale in the local markets. Thank you again for praying; all praise to our God who listens and acts, according to his divine will.

Throughout this pack, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Running a prayer event is a great way to encourage yourself and others to pray. It can be uplifting for your church or small group. Most of all, God uses our prayer and changes things! Planning an event can be daunting, though. These are our tips for running your own prayer event.

Make some decisions. Ask these questions to hone your plan:  What do I want the focus to be? Are you inspired to pray for Bible translation, for a political hotspot, or for a

local outreach coming up?  Who do I want to come? Is this an event for your whole church, your Christian Union or your small group?  How long will my event be? You can choose from a range of events – from a whole Saturday to a ten minute

segment of a Sunday service.  What sort of resources can I get? It’s good to have a mix of media, so look for presentations, videos,

photographs and audio as well as prayer points on paper.

Before the event you’ll need to get the practicalities sorted. Don’t neglect to think about…  The content Look at all the materials you have beforehand. Prayer requests might need printing, videos

downloading, and it helps if you’ve seen the presentations before you use them!  The location Make sure there is room for everyone to sit, but also check what technology you will need. Think

about who will be there and what text size will work best for printed prayers.  Telling people Well in advance, announce your event to church, call your friends to make a date, and add an

event onto Facebook.

Once you have a plan, it’s the final factors that can make or break the event.  Start with worship It focuses us on who God is. You could read the Bible together, sing with a musician or to a

CD, or watch a devotional video.  Move along! Try to keep things moving quickly. Use presentations as springboards for prayer and aim to spend

at least half the time praying not explaining.  Keep it going Prayer can be hard work, so if you are running a longer event plan breaks and refreshments.

If the idea of running a prayer event still seems overwhelming, let Wycliffe help. 

Join us for an event Wycliffe runs events every autumn called Frontline Prayer Live. See our website for details and to sign up. Coming along could help you see how it could work in your situation.

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Join together Talk to others in your small group and see if you can run the event together. Alternatively, arrange some dates and call the Wycliffe offices to see when someone could run the event for you.

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Ready-made resources We’ve gathered together prayer materials into downloadable modules that take about an hour to pray through (www.wycliffe.org.uk/fpmodules). We aim to have a new module online every 3 or 4 months so that several times a year there will be new materials available. In each module you’ll find an introductory presentation with facts and figures; videos and other display materials; and lots of current prayer needs. Each module is ready to use, even if you don’t yet know about the subject. They take about an hour to pray through but are broken into smaller segments so you can use part of a module if that’s all you have time for.

This article has been adapted from its original, written for Wycliffe’s UK prayer magazine, Words for Life. Read the latest edition of the magazine on the Wycliffe website, at wycliffe.org.uk/wordsforlife.

There are lots of ways of using the prayer information Wycliffe provides from running a short, snappy prayer section to leading a larger meeting. Try these ideas on for size…

Turn the room into a labyrinth that takes you (individuals or small groups) on a journey of prayer. At various stations of the labyrinth post information for prayer. People can start at different points in the labyrinth. The labyrinth could follow a theme: 

The journey from Bibleless to Bible-blessed Print out the sections on pages 17–23 about how to pray for people groups without a Bible, with portions of the Bible, with the New Testament etc.

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Variety Use the Words for Life prayer magazine (available online and by contacting the Wycliffe offices), taking a week’s prayer items for each station.

Find the latest statistics on the progress of Bible translation around the world on the Wycliffe Global Alliance website (wycliffe.net/statistics). Write specific numbers (like the number of languages without a Bible) on pieces of paper and stick them up around the room. As people walk around the room praying, get them to write their thoughts and prayers on the numbers.

Turn your prayer room into a map of the world! If you want to really go for it, mark out rough outlines on the floor with masking-tape. Alternately, put chairs (or create floor-space) for praying in places around the room that roughly correspond to the continents of the world. Gather information about Wycliffe’s work in these areas using our key weblinks (page 12). You may also want to use cut-outs from national newspapers of world news issues and get statistics from Operation World on the status of Christianity for each country of the world (operationworld.org).

Visit Wycliffe’s website for this week’s prayer and praise points (wycliffe.org.uk/pray and see the Seven Days of Prayer or Standing in the Gap sections). Get someone to present it as if they were reading the news on TV. Then get people to respond in prayer.

Do you know anyone that works with Wycliffe? Contact them and ask for their current prayer needs. Have photos of them or their most recent news on hand for people to read and pray, or create a history wall and put up several of their newsletters so that people can read through them and see God answering prayers!

Be aware of sensitive countries and always ask for permission before passing on news.

Pin the following verses up and use them to inspire your prayers:  2 Chronicles 7:14  Mark 11:24  Luke 10:2  Luke 18:2–7  Ephesians 6:18  Philippians 4:6  Colossians 4:2

Read these stories with your prayer group or small group to remind yourselves that God really uses our prayers for his work and that, as we pray, we are standing with other praying Christians around the world.

By Jack Popyes The translation teams at the conference in Brazil envied Jo and me. When we got together for problem solving sessions, fuelled by Brazilian cafezinhos – those tiny cups of strong, well-sugared espresso – Jo and I just could not identify with the problems they were sharing with us. ‘We are ignored in the village where we work,’ one team would say, ‘please pray for us.’ Another would report, ‘No one in the village we live in will help us learn the language.’ Another from a different language group would chime in, ‘No one is interested in learning to read.’ Someone else would ask, ‘How can you get good storytellers to help you translate the Bible?’ We prayed for our colleagues, but although our family constantly faced major financial and medical problems, we simply did not have problems in those areas – in fact, it was just the opposite. Within hours of my first arrival in the main Canela village, I was given a Canela name. Within a month of our family settling in the village, two families stepped up – one to adopt me as their son, and the other to adopt Jo as their daughter. We became Canelas: citizens of the village, joined with others in a complicated kinship system. I was even taken into one of the men's groups and guided through my responsibilities in the village festivals. When it came to learning the language, it was like drinking from a fire hose. Teenagers crowded around us shouting out the Canela names for things faster than we could write them down. Once we began teaching people to read, there were so many potential students that, for the first year, we limited classes to parents of families only. Some boys who didn't make it into the reading classes stole the learn-to-read books and taught themselves. We had a profusion of translation associates. At one time we had seventeen men and women on the team serving as review readers, translation checkers, and typists. As we listened to the problems enumerated by our colleagues who worked in other language groups, we realized we were very fortunate. And for years we had no idea why this was the case. It was not until we received a letter from a Christian man in Belfast, Ireland, that we were able to account for it. The letter went something like this: Dear Brother Jack and Sister Jo, I just found out that you have been assigned to translate the Bible for the Canelas. I am delighted. I once did some missionary service in Brazil. One day, as I was trekking through the jungle with some of my fellow missionaries, we stumbled upon a village we didn’t know was there. It was laid out in a huge circle, with all the houses around the outside of the circle facing inward, and an open plaza in the centre with paths radiating out, one to each house. From an airplane it must have looked like a gigantic wagon wheel. The people were fierce looking. The men carried clubs and spears and none of them spoke any of the languages we knew. Frankly, we were afraid of them, and we left as quickly as we could, not daring to stay overnight in that village. Later on I found out they were called the Canela.

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As the Irishman went on to tell us more about himself, we realised he had started praying for the Canela of Brazil when our parents were still teenagers! A full ten years before Jo and I were born! He prayed faithfully for the Canela for 40 years, until we finally got there – as 30 year-old linguist-translators. Then he prayed for another 22 years, until God's word was translated into Canela and the church was established. Finally, after 62 years of praying, the Lord took him home, no doubt to an exceedingly great reward. Jo and I spent twenty-two years of our lives talking to the Canela about God. The Irishman from Belfast spent sixtytwo years of his life talking to God about the Canela. Both activities were needed for the Canela to receive God's word in their language. Now God can speak to the Canela about himself directly from his word.

By Jack Popyes I will never forget that woman’s prayer during night class! We were in the last stages of the Canela translation program. Two dozen young Canela men and women surrounded me, sitting on logs, heads bowed in prayer. We had sung hymns set to Canela indigenous music patterns, and in a few minutes would read and talk about a new draft of the translated Scriptures. Now, it was time to pray. I heard prayers asking God to heal sick children, for a good crop, and for help to find a lost bush knife. Then a young mother prayed: ‘Great Father in the Sky,’ she began. ‘I want to thank you for sending our brother Prejaka, and our sister Tehtikwyj, to us so long ago when I was just a little girl. They taught us to read our own language. Then they worked with us to translate your words into it. Now we can read your letter to us. Now we are discovering that you love us very much. Now we can learn how we can live to please you. Please help them to finish the book soon.’ Then came the part that brought tears to my eyes and engraved itself into my memory. ‘I also want to thank you for all Prejaka and Tehti’s friends in Canada. Every month their friends send money to them. They know that our brother and sister don’t have a food garden here like we do. They need money to buy food, and their friends in Canada send it to them. ‘They don’t send it just because they are their friends. They send it because they are our brothers and sisters. Just as you are our Great Father, you are their Great Father too. ‘They could keep the money, and buy nice things for themselves. Maybe they see a new enamel plate, or a shiny spoon, and ask themselves, ‘Should I buy this for my family?’ But then, they decide not to buy anything, but to send the money to our brother and sister so they can stay here and help us have your word. ‘And they sure chose right, because your word is so much more valuable than a new spoon, and better than an enamel plate. As a reward, give these friends, our brothers and sisters, lots of healthy children; make their gardens grow well, and keep them from getting sick. Amen.’

By Luci Tumas In a West African country, a national translation committee recently translated the Lord’s Prayer from the Gospel of Luke. After processing all the information and feeling that their translation included all the aspects they had analysed, they asked one of the Wycliffe translation consultants to read the passage. They just wanted to listen. The consultant read slowly, pausing appropriately to match the natural meter emerging from the text. The committee members sat quietly with heads bowed. After the consultant completed the reading, he became concerned at their extended silence. ‘Is there something wrong?’ The lead translator for the day looked up and said, ‘Many years ago we all had memorized this prayer in the colonial language. But it was today that our Lord taught us to pray.’

Prayer works, and prayer works better when we work at prayer. Prayer flows from our relationship with God and relationships need time and commitment. Instead of a hurried blanket blessing (‘Lord, bless our missionaries’) we need to take time in thinking about those we pray for and time in listening and talking to God.

Everyone can pray and all mission workers need a lot of people praying for them.  As a church Include a regular mission prayer slot in church services.  As a prayer group There may be a mission prayer group in your church or local area. If not you may be able to

start one. The mission agency may be able to put you in touch with a nearby prayer group, and provide you with resources to help you in your prayers.  Individually There is value in both group and individual prayer. If you have a regular time set aside for prayer

and Bible study you can include an overseas worker you know in your prayers.

There are many ways to begin a conversation. Jesus taught his disciples The Lord's Prayer and that’s still a good framework you could begin from, or there are many other prayers in the Bible which can be used both for you and for those you pray for.

 With understanding The more we understand about someone’s situation, the easier it is to find the words to

pray for them. Mission workers are human. You understand what it's like to be human. Pray for their health, for their work, for their family, and for their ongoing awareness of God's love and power. Learn as much as you can about the work they are doing.  With knowledge As well as general information keep up to date as much as possible with the specific needs of a

mission worker. When you receive fresh information share it with others who are also praying (keep in touch with other groups praying for your mission worker).  ...and sometimes at 3:00am! Prayer is two-way. As you are praying, expect God to speak to you about what

you pray for. Also expect God to bring people to mind. There are countless stories of people feeling led to pray and only finding out much later that it was at the exact time of a real emergency.

This article has been adapted from its original, on Wycliffe’s UK website. Read the original at wycliffe.org.uk/ wycliffe/connected/member-care-praying.html. If you’d like to read more about Bible-inspired prayers for mission workers, have a look at the Praying for Missionaries booklet (available on the Wycliffe website at wycliffe.org.uk/prayingformissionaries) or at the Lord, bless Justin! infosheet on pages 15–16.

If you’re looking for prayer information online, there’s no shortage of places to find it. You just need to know where to look.

Words for Life is Wycliffe’s prayer magazine, published three times a year. The prayer items are relevant for several months and come in themed weeks, alongside inspiring articles and informative stories. Download it from wycliffe.org.uk/wordsforlife. You can also get just the weekly prayer points by feed or to your email box: wycliffe.org.uk/7daysofprayer.

Standing in the Gap is a weekly blog to keep you up to date with the latest prayer needs in Bible translation and mission, focusing on one key topic every week. Read the blog at wycliffe.org.uk/standinginthegap.

Frontline Prayer resources are downloadable modules with current information and prayer requests from countries around the world and for issues relating to Bible translation. Find them at wycliffe.org.uk/fpmodules.

We also share regular prayers and news through Facebook and Twitter. Catch up with the conversation at facebook.com/WycliffeBibleTranslatorsUK and twitter.com/wycliffeuk_pray.

It’s not just Wycliffe’s UK website that has helpful hints for praying. Have a look at these from partners and other prayer-passionate organisations.  The Wycliffe Global Alliance collate prayer information from Wycliffe organisations around the world.

Search their prayer library by country, topic or language to find shareable information. wycliffe.net/prayer  Joshua Project is a great source for information about people groups, including information about cultures,

languages, Bible translation progress and the number of Christians in communities. joshuaproject.net  Operation World has long been a key source for anyone praying around the world. Visit the website to

find information and prayers for every country in the world. operationworld.org  24-7 Prayer International coordinate a movement of churches and people who want to be part of praying

all day, every day. uk.24-7prayer.com  For praying on the go, you can’t get much better than the Prayermate App available for both iPhone and

Android. Through the app you can sign up to regular prayer feeds from churches, individuals and mission agencies. geero.net/prayermate

Do you feel confused about how to pray for mission workers or for language groups when you don’t have current information from them? Our infosheets are full of ideas about how to pray when you don’t have the latest prayer letter or bulletin to hand. It is probably not news to you that Jesus encouraged all of us always to pray and not give up (Luke 18:1). Praying can be hard even when we understand the issues and implications of a situation. Praying for mission workers and projects in contexts that are foreign to us – and persevering in prayer for them – can be even harder. How can we pray and not give up? We’ve got several infosheets to help with just this problem. They give ideas on how to pray for people groups without any Scripture, those with some parts of the Bible, those who have nearly met a significant milestone like completing a New Testament, and for those who have a New Testament or more. The sheets give subjects to pray about, stories to inspire us and Scriptures to guide and help us. They can be used by individuals or act as guides for those praying in groups. There is also a sheet called Lord, bless Justin! which is a guide to praying for Wycliffe workers, and others working outside their home culture, using Scripture. It’s easy to just pray ‘God bless’; this guide uses Colossians 1:9–14 to pray for overseas workers we know in the daily challenges that they face, whether or not we have current news from them. So whether you want to pray for a people group without the Bible, an active translation project or a specific mission worker that you know, these sheets are available to help, inspire and motivate you.

These infosheets can be used as a series (for example, in a prayer labyrinth – see page 6) or on their own. Feel free to print and distribute the sheets.

For ongoing Bible translation projects Pray for the translators, that they will... 

have good health, strength and stamina

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not be distracted from doing God's will

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have wisdom in how to relate to the people and show God's love

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set a good example by their attitudes

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be provided for in every material need

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prioritise fellowship with the Lord each day

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demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in their relationships

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have the full support of the local community and that God would provide all the necessaryworkers

Pray for the community, that they will...  be patient and help the translators  not have false ideas or unreal expectations of the

translators

people  seek God's help and wisdom in opposing evil

 take pride in their language  be seekers after truth and the true God, open to

the gospel  be preparing their future pastors, evangelists, and

teachers  be protected from outsiders who would exploit

them  not incite resentment, shame or hatred among or

within and without  model the good and beautiful aspects of their

culture in their churches  have adequate food, healthy bodies, and be

spiritually strong  become ‘people of the Book’, true followers of

Christ Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Colossians 4:2

Adapted from material by Wycliffe Global Alliance. Wycliffe UK Ltd Registered Office: Wycliffe Bible Translators, The Clare Charity Centre, High Wycombe HP14 4BF UK T 01494 569100 E askus@wycliffe.org W www.wycliffe.org.uk A company limited by guarantee, No 819788. Charity registered in England and Wales, No 251233 Charity registered in Scotland N o SC039140

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against them

 esteem education and promote it among their

Praying for Wycliffe workers Is this really praying? As I begin praying for the missionaries I know of, I realise I have no fresh news about any of them today. So, my prayer is dry, hurried and impersonal – ‘…bless the Browns and bless…’ Wait a minute! Suddenly, I remember asking friends to pray for me the other week. And I wonder with horror if they are ‘praying’ for me in the same way I am praying for these missionaries ‘…and bless Sarah and bless Jodie…’ Is this really praying? So I turn to the apostle Paul. I have no impression that his prayers were hurried or dry, even though he lived in a time of poor communication and almost total lack of news… even though he prayed for an ever-increasing number of churches and Christians. How did he do it? By the Spirit of Christ within him. And though I may not yet have the same spontaneity in prayer as Paul had, I can at least learn to pray as he did – by using his own prayers as my guide. God made sure they were written down for my benefit! I think I'll try with the prayer in Colossians.

‘Thanks to so many of you for your prayers and generous gifts as well!’ A Wycliffe worker

Colossians 1:9-14 So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

Praying for Wycliffe workers Praying for the person you know So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Lord, fill Justin with the knowledge of your will. May he have your point of view in all things. Keep him from decisions made from self-advantage. Help his decisions to be based on your truth – not the perverted standards of this world.

Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

Help him to live as you want him to, and to always do what pleases you. Enable him for this, not only in his praying and witnessing, but also in the drudgeries of daily living. May small maintenance jobs, errands run, meals eaten, the way he dresses and all his relationships please you.

Give him wisdom and spiritual understanding. Deliver him from a dependence on the dishonesty and craftiness of man's wisdom, from conceit and pride. Grant to him the pure wisdom which is from above – pure, teachable, humble.

Help his life to produce all kinds of good deeds. Keep him from any self-centredness or work-centredness that would stifle the flow of your love through him. Let his life be full of acts of kindness and goodness and generosity. Help him to grow in his knowledge of you. May he see you clearly in your word, may he hear you speak to him in prayer and meditation, may he be so filled with your Spirit of holiness and love that he would know you as you are.

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need.

Make him strong with your glorious power, the power that raised Christ from the dead. Take his weakness and inability that it might be lost in the ocean depths of your own omnipotence. Give him victory over every sin, every temptation he may have to only live – and produce – the second best. Teach him to endure everything with patience. Make him patient with the shortcomings and irritating habits of his co-workers, in all the daily circumstances and frictions. Make him patient in the multitude of interruptions, upsets and delays which slow his work. Give him a solution to the problem he is facing right now. And grant him patience with himself, with his own faults and weaknesses.

May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.

Fill his heart with your overflowing joy. May he see your love and mercy in control in every circumstance. May he rejoice in the certain knowledge of your presence with him and love for him.

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

I praise you, Lord, that you have made Justin fit to have a share of what you have reserved for your people in the Kingdom of light. I thank you for your mercy and your transforming power at work even today, in his life.

And teach him to be thankful!

I thank you for calling him out of darkness. I thank you that you have brought him safe into the Kingdom of your dear Son. I pray that you would make the deliverance from darkness and sin a practical reality in his daily life. When he falls into sin, bring him quickly to conviction and repentance and fill his heart with your love, with your forgiveness and your joy. And may all glory be to Jesus our Lord and Saviour who is superior in all things. Amen.

Wycliffe UK Ltd Registered Office: Wycliffe Bible Translators, The Clare Charity Centre, High Wycombe HP14 4BF UK T 01494 569100 E askus@wycliffe.org W www.wycliffe.org.uk A company limited by guarantee, No 819788. Charity registered in England and Wales, No 251233 Charity registered in Scotland N o SC039140

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Adapted from an article by Sarah Gudschinsky.

For people groups without Scripture What should I pray for a language community with no Bible? That they may hear. ‘How can they believe in him if they have never heard about him?’ Romans 10:14 That they may believe.

That they may have access to Scripture in the form that communicates most clearly to them. ‘God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says.’ Revelation 1:3

‘But [the message] did them no good because they didn’t share That local churches will use the Scriptures. the faith of those who listened to God. ’ Hebrews 4:2 ‘All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is That they may have the Bible in their own true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.’ language. 2 Timothy 3:16 ‘The decree was written in the scripts and languages of all the peoples of the empire.’ Esther 8:9

What are the specific prayer needs? For pre-contact concerns – Pray God will prepare hearts with a hunger for spiritual truth, an openness to seek it and a readiness to receive Christ.

towards translation work. Ask God to provide workers with friends, housing and where necessary support in making cross cultural adjustments.

‘His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.’ Acts 17:27

‘But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God.’ Galatians 4:14

For workers to be called and sent. ‘So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.’ Matthew 9:38 For allocation of workers – Pray that God will provide mother-tongue speakers to be translators and those with greater technical expertise to help them. ‘That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.’ Acts 16:10 For initial contacts with the people – Pray God will allay fears and suspicions of the local community

For ongoing relationships and communication of the message – Pray for opportunities to serve, protection from false rumours and misunderstandings, and involvement of the community until the project becomes their own. ‘They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers.’ 2 Corinthians 8:3,4 For the completion of the task to the glory of God. ‘I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.’ John 17:4

For people groups without Scripture How should I pray? By name If unsure of the pronunciation, do your best or simply lay the card with the name on it before God. He'll know and understand.

By language They need God's word in their own language, both for understanding and commitment to obey and give to others.

‘But now, listen to the Lord who created you: “I have called you by name; you are mine.”’ Isaiah 43:1

‘There are many different languages in the world, and every language has meaning. But if I don’t understand a language, I will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be a foreigner to me.’ 1 Corinthians 14:10,11

By population The numbers remind us each individual is important. Each one is loved by God, whether one of many or one of few. ‘The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you…’ Deuteronomy 7:7,8

By mission organisation Where missions have already worked or are working, pray the foundation produced by the Holy Spirit may remain and be built upon by the translation of the Scriptures.

By location Each person is living in a country with a government and under political and social conditions needing prayer.

‘It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. … the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice.’ Philippians 1:15,18

‘I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.’ 1 Timothy 2:1,2

In faith – Believe God will establish his church among them, using the word to bring people to Christ and to maturity in Christ, equipping them for the good works he has planned before for them to do. ‘I will build my church.’ Matthew 16:18

07/2014

Adapted from material by Wycliffe Global Alliance.

For people groups with parts of the Bible Begin with thanksgiving to God  that Bible translation has begun in this language.  that he wants to communicate personally with

them to bring many to faith in Christ, to maturity in life and to fruitfulness in service. John 17:20; 2 Timothy 3:15-17

people through the Bible in their language. John 20:31  that his word provides the foundation for the church  that he has sent his Holy Spirit into the world to

convict people of their need, to guide them into his truth, and to make Christ personally known to them. John 16:8-15

among them. Matthew 16:18  that his word gives them authority to evangelise

their own people and join in making him known to the rest of the world. Acts 6:7; 14:27

 that he will use those who minister his word among

Pray for acceptance and distribution of these portions…  that the good work God has started will be

carried through to completion.  that it may be publicly recognized as God's word

for the entire community. Nehemiah 8:1

 that leaders may welcome it, commend it to

others, and use it both personally and publicly.  that people will realise it is a first instalment and

look forward to the whole Bible.

For people groups with parts of the Bible If the language had not been written before, writing what they speak and reading what is written may seem like magic and not a skill available to all. Pray...  that they will want to know God and what he has said. Matthew 5:6  that reading classes may be available and they will not be hesitant to attend. Revelation 1:3  that reading may become a community value, for all, men, women and children. Nehemiah 8:3  that those who can read will read aloud so others may hear what God has said. Revelation1:3  for the availability soon of audio and video versions of the Scripture that open it for everyone.

Some people may know a trade or national language which has Scripture. Pray they will...  not belittle their mother tongue and reject the Scripture portion now translated in it.  also want to learn to read and use the published portion in their own language.  be willing and eager to teach others to read and use this first portion of Scripture.  offer their help to translate more portions from the trade or national language Bible.

Pray for those who possess a copy of this first published portion, that they will...  come to trust in Christ through reading it or hearing it read. John 20:31  read it many times, memorise it, and seek God's help to obey it. Matthew 7:24  discuss among themselves how to apply it in their own way of life. James 1:22  use it to exhort and encourage one another in following Christ. 1 Timothy 4:13  use it as the basis and authority in their witnessing to others. 2 Timothy 4:2  realise it is a man-made translation, and make suggestions for revision where needed.

07/2014

Adapted from material by Wycliffe Global Alliance.

For a nearly finished New Testament project The translation of Scripture is a demanding task and needs constant prayer support from start to finish. Translators have noticed, however, that special difficulties seem to surface when translations near completion. What follows is a sample of such problems to help you in praying for those involved. Some problems are due to human frailty and sinfulness. Some may simply be mechanical or electrical glitches. Some problems may be spiritual or have a spiritual component. The list is not hypothetical. Every item mentioned has occurred to delay completion of some translation.

Some Scriptures to use when praying My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. John 4:34 I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do… for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. John 17:4, 8 These are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name. John 20:31 I will work hard to make sure you always remember these things after I am gone. So Peter wrote them down, as part of the New Testament – 2 Peter 1:15 Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the LORD is finished correctly. 1 Chronicles 28:20 So Solomon made sure that all the work related to building the Temple of the LORD was carried out, from the day its foundation was laid to the day of its completion. 2 Chronicles 8:16

Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has sent me. Zechariah 4:9 So the Jewish elders continued their work… The Temple was finally finished, as had been commanded by the God of Israel and decreed by Cyrus. Ezra 6:14 The priests who were carrying the Ark stood in the middle of the river until all of the LORD’s commands that Moses had given to Joshua were carried out. Joshua 4:10 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. A promise to be claimed for those translating it – Isaiah 55:11 God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says… Revelation 1:3 I also have decided to write a careful account for you… so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught. Luke 1:3,4

For a nearly finished New Testament project Pray…  for the stamina and health of translators, their

families and their children.  that God would protect and preserve the lives of

the translators and other workers.  that aging parents, education of children, and family

duties would not be neglected.  for translators having to leave the work.  for the finances needed to support the translators,

pay the expenses, and publish the books.  for final decisions on key terms to be acceptable to

all concerned.  for involvement and consensus of denominations on

wording, writing, and printing.  for reconciliation of alphabets and alternate

wordings due to dialect differences.  for authorisations and approvals by church

authorities and governments where required.  for translations being done in secret to protect lives

of those involved and their families.  for the timing and survival from hurricanes,

earthquakes and safety of manuscripts.  against wars and insurrections that render it

impossible to continue the work.  against the outbreak of persecution against the

mother-tongue workers involved.  that those involved in the translation will not fall

into sin that nullifies their efforts.  against subversive political forces that make it

impossible to live and work in the area.

 against theft and destruction of computers, printers,

homes and translation centres.  against technical failures of computers, hard drives

and memory sticks, copiers, printers, and service items.  for readers from the community to be available to

check the acceptability of the translation.  for sufficiently trained consultants so the translation

will not be delayed waiting for final approval.  for accuracy of typesetters, often working in a

language they do not understand.  for proofreaders, that they may catch and correct

errors that would mar the translation.  for printers, that inking, pagination and binding may

result in clear, usable, durable books.  that paper for printing may be available when the

copy arrives.  for the mailing and shipping, that damage or loss in

transit, delays in customs, do not occur.  against the apathy of local believers who have grown

accustomed to not understanding.  for literacy and Scripture use workers to promote

literacy and non-written ways of accessing the translated Scripture and so relieve translators to finish the translation.  for local enthusiasm for the completion and

publication that will urge the translators on.  for the production of audio and audio-visual

versions of the translation, especially for the production equipment to work well.

07/2014

Adapted from material by Wycliffe Global Alliance.

For people groups with a New Testament For communities who have celebrated the completion of the New Testament, there is still a need to pray...  Now that ‘the good seed’ is available to be sown,

pray for ‘prepared soil’ in which it can be sown. Pray for hearts that hunger and thirst to know God, to please him, to have his help in meeting their felt needs.  Books and literacy may not be cultural values. Pray

the people will learn that books are a source of knowledge and listen as others read and want to learn to read themselves. Pray that mother tongue speakers will respond well to audio players and other new technologies that enable the Bible to be presented in forms other than the printed word.  Pray that those who can read will read aloud to those

who still can not, so that they too may profit from what God has said in his word.  Pray that pride will not keep those who can read

from reading aloud in public / church services through fear of embarrassment if they make a mistake.  Pray that readers will not stop halfway, before

reading becomes fluent and fun, and helping others learn to read becomes a means of Christian service.  Pray that pastors and teachers will not fear losing

status or control of teaching because those they teach can now read for themselves. Pray they will go on from being interpreters from a national or trade language to being teachers of what the Scriptures mean and how their truth applies.  Pray that the people will learn the technicalities of

using their Bibles: how to find pages, chapters, verses, cross-references by numbers; how to read and locate places on maps; and how to study pictures and

illustrations to learn cultural differences that help in understanding certain passages.  Pray that they will learn good Bible study methods, to

look to the Holy Spirit to help them understand, to compare Scripture with Scripture, to interpret meaning by context, and to go on from knowing truth to living it.  Pray that the people will learn to base their witness

and evangelism on Scripture, to make Bible reading a priority in family life, to emphasise memorisation of Scripture for ready recall in prayer, for meditation, for crisis situations, and for strength when facing temptation.  Pray that the people will not be unduly disturbed by

alphabet differences or changes, variant renderings or revisions, and differences between dialect or other language versions but learn to obey what is clear and to reserve judgment and study what is ambiguous or unclear.  Pray that believers will use the Scriptures to find

culturally appropriate ways of worship, witness, and conduct, and for discerning when practice is simply cultural (foreign or local) but not necessarily biblical.  Pray that believers, reading God's word, will get the

big picture of God's sovereignty, holiness and greatness; of his worldwide, unprejudiced love and desire for all peoples to be saved and come to the full knowledge of his truth; and of their place as individuals and as a church in carrying the gospel to their own people and to other peoples until Christ returns.

07/2014

Adapted from material by Wycliffe Global Alliance.

Worldwide there are more than 180 million people speaking around 2,000 languages who do not have access to the story of God’s love for his people – the story of the Bible – in the language they understand best, their ‘heart’ language. Wycliffe Bible Translators believe that the Bible is the best way for people to come to know and understand who God is. Our vision is that by working with churches, organisations and individuals from around the world, all people will have access to God’s word in a language they truly understand.

Wycliffe Bible Translators The Clare Charity Centre, Wycombe Road, Saunderton, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP14 4BF T: 0300 303 1111 E: askus@wycliffe.org Wycliffe UK Ltd. is a charity registered in England and Wales, number 251233, and a charity registered in Scotland, number SC039140.