Mustard Seed Faith & Asia

{Translation}
Friend: Then I am going to be praying from now until the sun sets and rises again. Will "it" happen?
Me: I hope so. I will pray with the faith of a mustard seed, too. 

This is an exert from a conversation I had recently with a friend. The topic of conversation was pretty light, and actually the "it" we were praying for was that I would be able to be in Peru for a dear friend's Quinceanera (fifteen year old girls' birthday bash). It was doubtful that I would be there due to work and money, but we both honestly wished there were some way it could be made possible. However, me missing the birthday party wasn't all bad. We celebrated my mom's 49th birthday after a slight scare with heart failure in September last year, and a college friend made a surprise visit to Goshen this weekend. I missed the party, yes, but I didn't miss a beat of life by not being there.


After the conversation above with my dear friend, my prayer life was challenged. While we were slightly joking about the prayers we would offer up concerning a weekend trip to Peru, I felt challenged that my prayers overall should be more intense and grounded in true faith that God can and will make things happen {should it be HIS will of course}. Will you join me in praying with the faith of a mustard seed for Asia these next few days?

For the rest of the month, the Operation World prayer focus is set on Asia. Asia is the continent with the fastest growing evangelical population in all the world. Asia has seen dramatic changes since 1900, and I know that the Lord is not finished there yet. While Asia has more evangelical Christians than any other continent, still, 80% of the world's unreached and least reached people groups can be found in there, and Asians face the most intense religious persecution when compared to all other continents around the world. Asia is the only continent where Christianity is not the largest religion, and it is the continent that faces the most challenges for evangelism {despite having the largest evangelical Christian population}.

Here are some of the prayer concerns I have highlighted for this fragile continent that God is placing more and more on my heart:

• Praises to Note:
• The increased use of technology is advancing the spread of the gospel. 
• Remarkable church growth and increasing Muslim converts. 
• Increased numbers of Middle East Christians feel burdened to reach out to Muslims. 
• Public congregations present in parts of nearly all Asian countries. {Saudi Arabia and Maldives are the only Asian countries with no public congregations.}
• The impact of tentmaking missionaries throughout Asia {and the rest of the world} will produce a massive global impact.
• South Korea produces the 2nd most missionaries than any country in the world. {Only the U.S.A. produces more missionaries than South Korea.}
• India has more national missionaries than any other nation worldwide.
• Concerns for Prayer:
• The rise in prostitution and sex trafficking and AIDS due to a large gender gap created by selective abortions.
• Uneven economic growth {rich get richer and poor are left behind} leading to potential ecological disasters.
• Religious freedom - Only five or six Asian countries have genuine, deep-rooted cultures of religious freedom.
• "Underground" Christians.
• Persecution of Christians is great throughout Asia. Pray for boldness and wisdom over the lives of our Asian brothers and sister in Christ. Pray for safety and peace.
•  The spread of the gospel with love, boldness, humility, and wisdom.
• Unrest in the Middle East causing tensions worldwide. - Arab Spring
• Stable democratic governments to be set up in all nations.
• Israel - The Lord's chosen - is currently surrounded by hostile, radical Islamic groups, countries, and governments. Egypt has declared Israel its #1 enemy, and Muslims say a Holy War against Israel is imperative. Iran has continuously threatened to wipe Israel off the map. {See prophecy of Zechariah - Chapter 12}
• Situation at the Euphrates River - Syria, Iran, Iraq - is the most volatile situation on Earth in our present day. 

Join me for the next week in praying for the continent of Asia. Praise God for the awesome things HE is already causing to take place in the nations of Asia, and pray with faith the size of a mustard seed that God will handle the other situations facing this region. God has a plan for Asia, and through our prayers, I have faith that this world will be changed for the cause of Christ.

 Matthew 17:20 - He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."