Jesus spoke these things, and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, ‘Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You.'” – John 17:1
Jesus stood at the threshold of His greatest suffering, and His first concern wasn’t escape or comfort, it was His Father’s glory. Think about that for a moment. In the hours before the cross, facing unimaginable pain, Jesus prayed that God would be glorified through what He was about to endure. This wasn’t just any prayer; it was a model for how we approach our own hardships and how we engage in God’s global mission. When we pray for the nations, when we pray for the 1040 Window where billions live without access to the Gospel, our primary motivation must be God’s glory, not our own comfort or even our desire to see results.
What would it look like if we adopted this same posture in our daily lives? Whether you’re facing illness, relational struggles, workplace challenges, or simply the mundane difficulties of everyday life, can your greatest desire be that God’s name would be honored through it? When we pray for unreached people groups, for missionaries serving in dangerous places, for house churches meeting in secret, our prayer isn’t ultimately about numbers or success metrics. It’s about God being glorified among every tribe, tongue, and nation. That’s what transforms our prayers from wishful thinking into powerful participation in God’s eternal purposes.
Reflect:
- In what current difficulty could you shift your focus from relief to God’s glory?
- How does praying for God’s glory in the nations change your perspective on global missions
- Ask God to make His glory your primary concern today, both in your personal circumstances and in your prayers for unreached peoples.
