This month, in Stoenesti, Romania, we have an unusual ministry.
Every morning, we begin the day by praying for one to two hours. When the weather is nice, we walk through the village, praying as we go, for four hours in the afternoon. When it's raining (which unfortunately has been almost every day the past week) we pray for another hour or two inside. And that's pretty much the extent of our ministry.
When I signed up for the World Race, I imagined working in orphanages, building homes, teaching, preaching, and helping with other "common" ministries. These are the things you usually think of when you think of "ministry," right?
But why can't prayer be ministry? Just because you're not physically doing "something" doesn't mean that your ministry is less important. I would argue that prayer is the most essential form of ministry you can do. As our contact George put it, he can go out and litter the town with hundreds of tracts, knock on every door in the village, put on countless kids' programs, and still have nothing to show for it. He believes that through covering this village and the surrounding area in prayer, that hearts will be opened to the Gospel, and that the enemy's strongholds will be broken. I agree completely with this sentiment. It is important to do things for the Kingdom, sure, but if the hearts of those you're ministering to are not open and prepared to hear the Gospel, it's just doing good deeds. Preparing your heart and inviting God to come and work alongside you is a key part to ministry.
So we pray. It's not always easy, it can be really intense to pray for hours on end, and our thoughts sometimes wander. But God is doing amazing things here, things we may never see the fruit of. I'm simply walking in trust that He who began the work here will complete it.
