In November 1983, David and Ray began praying that the Juni people of Sudan (a community of over 40,000 people) would receive the Bible in their own language. In May 1986, Jerry and Jan started praying for the Juni people as well. And in March 1990, Jane and Margie began praying too.
It turns out that the same month in 1983 that David and Ray started to pray, a young Juni man became a Christian! In June 1986, this man was accepted into a program for theological studies - just after Jerry and Jan began to pray! He later applied to study linguistics and translation so that he could translate God’s Word for his people. And in March 1990, the year that Jane and Margie began to pray, he was accepted as a Bible translation student.
Today, over 30 years after people started praying for the Juni by name, a completed New Testament is in their language. The prayers of those six people, impacted about 40,000 people!
The Bible says that “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)
We can see not only from this story, but also from Scripture, that the impact of our prayers is vital for God’s work. Dan and I have experienced the result of Believers praying on our behalf for many years and we undoubtedly believe in the impact of prayer. It’s amazing to know that our prayers can impact thousands. It’s also incredible to know that they can make an impact, no matter how great the distance, and provide comfort for those living far away.
Voice of the Martyrs shared these words from a woman who was imprisoned in the former Soviet Union for being a Christian, “I had the physical sense of being prayed for. Even when I knew nothing and received no letters, I felt warmth as if sitting near a fire. Sometimes this happened in punishment cells, which are very cold. It was like hearing someone pray for me and think about me. This supported me so much. It is difficult to explain… I felt and knew I was not forgotten. This was sufficient to make me resist the most difficult moments.”
How encouraging to be reminded that the people that we pray for are truly impacted by Jesus through our prayers. How may the Lord be calling you to pray? Maybe it’s in a way that you’ve never prayed before!
If you are interested in how to pray for people who do not have access to the Bible go to this link: https://www.wycliffe.org/prayer/bppp
Dan and I are also building a team of individuals committed to pray for us regularly and to partner with us financially. If you are interested in joining our Prayer Team please use the following link to navigate to our Wycliffe homepage and select the [Pray and Stay Connected] button and we will email you further information: https://www.wycliffe.org/partner/danielcarolyn
If you would like to partner with us financially you may also do so at that page. Our goal is to leave for our assignment in Romania by February 2017, we cannot leave until we are fully funded. If you would like more information, we would love to hear from you, you can email us through this blog or at our Wycliffe homepage.
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