In 1982, Germany was divided by the Berlin Wall, the physical symbol of the “Iron Curtain” that not only kept people from escaping to the West, but also made it seem impossible for the gospel to enter into the communist regions to the East. Sensing political unrest, Reverend Christian Fürher started prayer meetings for peace with a handful of people in Leipzig every Monday night at 5 p.m. Over six faithful years, the group slowly grew into 600 by 1988. Prayer meetings went from weekly to daily, and the group swelled to 4,000 by September 1989. Other churches joined, and the prayer meetings turned into peaceful demonstrations in early October with 70,000 people, and 300,000 people by mid-October. Soon a million people were marching in the streets against the communist regime until the fateful fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. The Cold War ended without a single shot being fired. An East German official admitted, “We were prepared for any eventuality. Any except for candles and prayers.”

I never get tired of that story because it reminds me of the incredible power of dedicated prayer. Wealth, talent and education are non-essentials when carrying out the work of God, who is the Source of all things. But prayer is the non-negotiable tool upon which foreign mission work utterly depends.

The Spirit of Prophecy over and over again compares prayers to sharp sickles. “Let the Lord’s messengers carry the triumphs of the cross into the regions beyond, calling upon the members of the church to send their prayers as sharp sickles into the harvest field.” Just as it is futile to gather a harvest without a sickle, so it is futile for a missionary to go without the earnest, continual prayers of church members. The need for praying church members who know that “the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” is undeniable. Will you join me by committing to send your prayers as sharp sickles into the harvest field of the unreached?

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