Stories from the Mission Field | CGO Blog

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, it’s easy to get distracted by all the holiday preparations, travel plans, and, let’s be honest, the football and especially the food. And dare I not mention the frenzy of Black Friday?

But when we allow ourselves time to step back and consider what we are truly most thankful for, is it not our faith? the hope we have of spending eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ.

If you’re anything like me, though, sharing your Christian faith is most intimidating when you think about sharing it with your family members and dear friends who do not believe. For me, I fear ruining a relationship or causing an awkward moment with someone I’ll see again at the next family gathering.

But God is clear in His Word. We are to “go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). And the older I get, the more I realize this is a command and not a suggestion—and that it doesn’t necessarily mean going across the world or to another city. It could mean making disciples in your own home and family.

I hope these Bible verses and prayer prompts will help you prepare your heart and mind to share what you’re most thankful for with those you love the most, especially those who need to hear the lifesaving message of the Gospel this Thanksgiving season.

Day 1

Pray for a better understanding of God’s Word so you may faithfully share it with those who do not believe.

2 Timothy 3:14–15: But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Day 2

Pray for the ability to share your Christian faith in love.

Romans 14:1: As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.

Day 3

Pray for a sense of urgency so you do not become lazy in your witness of Jesus Christ.  

Romans 13:11: Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

Day 4

Pray for your confidence in God’s Word to remain steadfast as you share it with others.

2 Timothy 3:16–17: All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Romans 15:20–21: And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of Him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”

Day 5

Pray that you would be a willing vessel for the Holy Spirit to accomplish His work.

John 14:16­–17, 26: [Jesus said,] “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. . . . The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

Day 6

Pray for the strength to obey Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples,” wherever that may be: in your own home, in your community, or in another country.

Acts 1:7­­–8: [Jesus] said to [the disciples], “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Day 7

Pray for the courage to be bold as you live out your Christian faith in your daily life.

Romans 10:13–14: For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Strengthen your witness with Connected to Christ: Witnessing in Everyday Life by Rev. Dr. Mark Wood.