Dearest Friend and Pray-er,
Prayer changes nations.
Mac and I witnessed this firsthand when we went to El Salvador last December. El Salvador used to be the murder capital of the world. Nobody went there; every place had armed guards. It was a mess. Today, however, it’s completely different.
This change started happening in 2019 when Nayib Bukele was elected as president. He is a believer and his whole staff are believers. As soon as he got into office, he brought his leaders to the government offices and they began to pray together for their nation. President Bukele told Tucker Carlson in the spring of 2024 that “We [were] looking into an impossible mission here, so we prayed.”
What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. The difficulties with the cartels were cleaned up and the crime went down to almost nothing. The nation went through a complete turnaround.
The people in the nation are so happy about that. They see it for what it is. They know that prayer made it possible.
Nine Hours of Travel Was Well Worth It!
When Mac and I went to El Salvador, we could feel something was different in that nation. There was a supernatural peace and hunger for the Lord. We saw God everywhere!
Our physical trip to El Salvador wasn’t easy. It was a seven-hour flight on Saturday, followed by an early morning preparing for service, followed by a two-hour bumpy car ride.
Any exhaustion we felt, however, melted away when we reached the dedication service of our first church plant in that country. We had traveled through the forest to get there. When we pulled into a clearing, we saw a beautiful, whitewashed church that had “Living Word Internacional” painted across the top.
We were greeted by a beautiful dance from the young girls in that church. During the service, other children performed for us as well. So many people came to celebrate what God was doing!
The building was near the mango tree that Pastors Tony and Gaby had met under for services for two years with their church family. Rain or shine, people had been coming weekly to this mango tree to worship and praise the Lord. Now, they had a beautiful building that they could call home.
Let me tell you, their passion was contagious. They went to church every Sunday without condition! That is a far cry from what happens in America. When we have a snowstorm in Minnesota, I know the attendance will be down. For these people, their hunger drove them to meet at church without fail!
The Atmosphere Was Different
That Sunday, we prayed over Pastor Tony and Gaby and licensed them as ministers of the Gospel. When we were praying over them, Pastor Mac laid his hands on Pastor Tony. I hugged Gaby, and she had the sweetest response. I later found out that she had lost her mom when she was two; when I hugged her that day while praying, she said she felt like she was getting a hug from her mom.
Every moment was like that. These sweet people are so hungry for the Lord. As the service went on, Pastor Mac and I recognized that we were this church family’s answer to prayer. People had been praying for years, and we were able to come and be a part of that answer. That realization has changed me. Tears flowed throughout this entire trip as I watched God move in the lives of these people, knowing that I was playing a small part in their prayers becoming reality.
President Bukele himself has spoken openly about the power of prayer. He stated, “If you win the spiritual war, it will reflect into the physical war. … Our impressive victory was because we won the spiritual war very fast.”
He understood what I’ve been telling you for years: Change starts with prayer.
Cities and Nations Can Be Transformed
I remember hearing a report of this happening in Chicago. There was one section in Chicago where the crime was so terrible that the sheriff knew he needed to do something. There was also an old black lady who prayed.
Right on the corner of that crime place, the sheriff built that lady a concrete building. He would lock her into that concrete building every night to pray, and she prayed that evil out of there.
I also heard there was a street that ran through Brazil. On one side of the street, people would want to take a tract about the Gospel. On the other side, no one would take a tract. Someone got a building right there and started to pray. It opened that place right up, and people on both sides of the streets started taking the tracts and being open to hear the Gospel.
Too often, we get focused on what the natural situation looks like. We see the crime and the people who want to keep evil prevalent in that area, and it feels impossible. Thankfully, we serve a God who can move mountains, change hearts, and do the impossible.
Don’t Sit Idly by!
Now, we can’t just sit back and wait for God to move. God invites us to do our part. God needs our prayers. He wants to be invited to move in these situations.
When we pray and invite Him to move, He responds.
Pastor Tony and Gaby were praying for their community and their church for years. They were expecting God to move—and our partners became their answer. Isn’t that amazing?
I am excited to see what God has for El Salvador next. I am also excited to see what He has for us, for we are continuing to pray that doors open in new places, and we are continuing to move into places that have been prepared by prayer.
I know that this is just the beginning of what God is going to do through our global-church planting movement. Will you join with me in praying for nations that haven’t yet been opened to the Gospel? Will you join me in praying for our current church plants that we have built or are currently building? Will you join me in praying for more doors to open in more nations?
We believe that when we pray, we pave a way for God to move!
Thank you for your connection with this ministry!
Be sure to remember,
P.S. As a heartfelt thank-you for your gift of any amount to help us share God’s Word around the world, I’d love to send you my message, The Hour of No Impossibility. Click here to give and get instant access to the MP3 download.