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Prayer and Evangelism⏤the Two-pronged Model of the Great Commission

By Pastor Lane Davis


Jesus said that we should “therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest…” (Matthew 9:38). The Greek word for earnestly is deomai, which means; desire, long for, ask, beg. So, when we pray to the Lord of the harvest, we should pray in earnest with strong desire, a longing for, and yes, even begging in faith for the lost and for labourers, placing our trust in the trustworthiness of the One in whom we believe.


The New Testament Model: Prayer that Leads to Evangelism


Armin Gesswein, known as “the apostle of prayer and revival,” explains the inseparability of prayer and evangelism in the New Testament:


Prayer is the lifeline of New Testament evangelism, the oxygen for its holy fire. The New Testament was born in prayer. It knows no evangelism without prayer, and no prayer which does not lead to evangelism.” (1)