Prayers for Bangladesh

I attended fellowship on Friday night at church. It was not a typical Bible study night, but instead various people who have gone on missions (or are going to go on missions) this summer, shared about their experiences. We also got to pray for the countries and people to which they ministered. It was good to hear stories of God's work. As life goes on, God's work continues.

I couldn't help but think though about the spiritual gap in this world. We had one person sharing about her upcoming trip to China, someone's recent trip to Thailand and a team's experience, also in China. So we prayed for and sang about Thailand and China. Which is great, but I couldn't help but ask myself, "Who's praying for Bangladesh? Who's praying for Turkmenistan?" I'm sure that the Christians in Bangladesh and Turkmenistan are praying for their own people, just like Chinese pray for China, but that's the thing; there are very few Christians in these countries, that I imagine few prayers are being made on behalf of these countries by their own believers. Now I know that it's not the number of people or prayers that make a difference; God doesn't need our prayers to do His work. But doesn't God work more when we pray more? Isn't at least part of the reason why America is so blessed because Americans have prayed for God to bless them? And is it just a coincidence that many of the poorest nations are also the countries that lack Christ and the Church, and hence would have less prayers for it? I hear and see "God bless America" everywhere, and God certainly knows how often I've prayed for China, but what about God bless Algeria? What about prayers for Iran?

I know that we can't focus on every country or every culture, because then we aren't focusing on any, and it would be overwhelming to focus on too much. And I know it's easier (and more effective) for us to pray for and reach out to those who are similar to us. But sometimes I just wonder, "Who's praying for Oman? Who's praying for Tajikistan?"

That's why I think Operation World is such a great thing.