Preparing the Way through Prayer Evangelism

“When Nick gets up to preach the gospel message, we want you to crawl under the stage and pray.”

“What?” The arena was pulsating with music so loud my earplugs barely made a dent in the volume.

“We had the idea of you crawling under the stage to pray directly beneath Nick while he shares the gospel.” Perhaps the PULSE staff didn’t notice that I’m 50-something, and they are all considerably younger.

Yet the idea thrilled me. At that moment, thousands of college students were gathering in a university field house to listen to rock bands at a PULSE outreach event. The music, designed to draw crowds and capture attention, prepared students for the moment when Nick stepped onto the stage to challenge them with the truths of Jesus Christ.

So at the right time, I crawled under the stage with my nephew Brad, who had been praying backstage with me. We cried out to God as the crowd began to hush during the key moment of Nick’s preaching. When he called for a salvation response, we were overwhelmed to hear hundreds of students pray out loud and commit their lives to Jesus Christ.      It was worth the crawl!

I repeated this under-the-stage prayer crawl a few more times in other venues as I supported these outreaches on various college campuses. This is a ministry that believes the power of prayer will awaken students and our culture to the desperate need for Jesus. As a staff they call out to God fervently for Him to move in unprecedented ways.  In this issue, you will read an article by Nick Hall, founder of PULSE, that speaks to the urgency of our day and the ripeness of the harvest fields.

Neighbor to Neighbor

God uses large events to capture the hearts of students, but He also uses the persistence of individual believers and couples who pray faithfully for their neighbors. Paul and Jeannie Cedar write about the impact prayer has had in their neighborhood as the “prayer, care, share” model helps prepare the way.

I have personally witnessed Paul and Jeannie’s hearts for the lost. Jeannie is irrepressible in her enthusiasm to find ways to share the gospel. And she and Paul are some of the most faithful pray-ers I know. Their love for their neighbors has spilled over into many acts of kindness. And God has answered their prayers by spiritually transforming the hearts of people around them.

In this issue, you’ll also find a more in-depth explanation of prayer evangelism in an article by Alvin VanderGriend, who models prayer evangelism through his life, his writing, and his influence as a denominational prayer leader. He helps frame exactly what prayer evangelism means, how it works, and the effect it can have in opening previously closed hearts and doors.

Personally, I am praying for my own neighbors to come to faith in Christ. I’ve had them in my home, and so far they think I am “nice and religious.” But I pray that one day the Holy Spirit will awaken them to Christ and give me the boldness, the words, and the favor to speak of the power of the gospel. The door is open a crack.

Perhaps very soon Jesus Christ will be welcomed into multiple homes, cities, and nations because God’s people have prayed. Ask Him to warm your heart even more toward the lost—and then use your prayers to open those doors.

Carol Madison is editor of Prayer Connect.