Prayer Movements: The Foundation of Breakthrough in Unreached Areas

“In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles.” – Luke 6:12-13

 When Jesus went up the mountain to pray, He did so knowing He was launching a movement—one that would spread across the nations as His disciples made more disciples. Prayer has always been the foundation of any move of God. It was the foundation of Jesus’ ministry, the early church, and the modern missions movement. If we are to join the Father in His mission to reach the least-reached, we must begin with prayer. It always has been and always will be the starting place.

The Moravian Prayer Movement
In 1722, Count Nikolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf welcomed a group of Moravian refugees onto his estate near Dresden, Germany, helping them establish a community called Herrnhut. He ministered to their spiritual needs, leading them in Bible study, prayer, and worship. After a season of disunity and conflict, Zinzendorf called for a prayer meeting in August 1727. That night, the Holy Spirit moved powerfully, dissolving their divisions and uniting them around two priorities:
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• Prayer – They launched a 24/7 prayer movement that continued unbroken for over 100 years.
• Missionary Zeal – This prayer movement became the foundation for their missionary efforts, sending believers to some of the hardest places of their time—Caribbean islands, Greenland, North America, and Africa.

The Haystack Prayer Meeting
By 1806, as the Moravian prayer movement was winding down, five young students at Williams College in Massachusetts were discussing William Carey’s famous missions pamphlet. They wondered if God was calling them to take part in the global work of evangelism.

When an unexpected storm forced them to seek shelter in a haystack, their discussion turned to fervent prayer. There, in that simple refuge, the Holy Spirit stirred their hearts with a burning passion to take the gospel to the unreached. This prayer meeting birthed the first North American mission agency, which sent Adoniram Judson as its first missionary. Several of the men followed Judson to the mission field, while others worked to mobilize the church.

The Haystack Prayer Meeting stands as a powerful example of how God can use even a small group of dedicated believers to spark a global movement.

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​The Student Volunteer Movement
Perhaps the most significant wave of missionaries in modern history came through the Student Volunteer Movement of the late 19th century.

In 1885-1886, Robert Wilder and his sister Grace prayed nightly for thousands of missionaries to be sent from America to the least-reached places on earth. When Robert, a seminary student at Princeton, was invited to a month-long Bible conference led by D.L. Moody, he was hesitant to attend because it wasn’t missions-focused. But Grace insisted, saying, “Robert, you have to go. I believe our prayers for a missionary awakening will be answered there. God will raise up 100 students who will volunteer for missionary service.”

By the end of the conference, 99 students had pledged to go. From there, teams traveled across the country, mobilizing thousands more. As a result, over 10,000 young adults eventually took the gospel to the nations.

What About Us?
Each of these mission movements began with fervent prayer—prayers for the nations and for God to raise up laborers. These were not driven by famous figures or large institutions. God used a count in a small German village, five college students in a haystack, and a faithful brother and sister to launch thousands into the harvest field. They had no prestige, wealth, or special qualifications—just faith.

Hudson Taylor once said, “God is not looking for men of great faith, He is looking for common men to trust His great faithfulness.”

Will you trust God enough to pray bold prayers like Robert and Grace Wilder? Prayers for thousands to be sent, for nations to turn to Christ, for revival in America so that we can take up the Great Commission in our generation? Prayers for the vision to see the unreached who have moved to your own city or region?

And will you invite others to pray with you?

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“The Church has not yet touched the fringe of the possibilities of intercessory prayer. Her largest victories will be witnessed when individual Christians everywhere come to recognize their priesthood unto God and day by day give themselves unto prayer.” 

• -- John R. Mott