Would Your Prayers Tear Off the Roof?
Do you pray with faith so great that your prayers could tear the roof off of a building?
It sounds extreme, but that’s exactly what we read about in Mark 2. We see a paralyzed man and his friends have faith so big that they literally tear off a roof to get to Jesus.
Take a look at Mark 2:3-5: “Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’”
Jesus then tells the man to get up—and he does. The paralyzed man walks out as everyone watches in awe.
Is your faith bold enough to carry a friend onto a rooftop? Dig a hole in it? Disrupt a packed crowd by lowering your friend into it? To go to these great lengths, you’d really have to believe that whatever was inside that building would be worth it. Many of us know that Jesus is worth that kind of effort, but how often do we pray as though that’s the case?
If we want to see God move in big ways—like He did for the paralyzed man in Mark 2—we need to pray boldly. At Mission India, we’re kicking off 2024 believing that the love of Christ can change India. We need God to answer bold prayers in order for this vision to become a reality! Last year, India became the most populated country in the world at 1.4 billion people, and 95% of the population is unreached by the Gospel. If we want to share the Good News on this scale, we need to pray over our work with great faith.
Friends like you are incredible prayer partners who join us in trusting God to move in India. In the same way that the friends of the paralyzed man believed that Jesus would heal their friend, our prayer partner Terri, from Illinois, boldly prays that God would move in India. She’s a Difference Maker in her daily life, faithfully lifting up India’s needs. And she trusts that as we all pray together, God is listening. “If we can get thousands of people to pray for India,” she shares, “I think God would be moved.”
Like Terri, do you believe that your prayers can move the heart of God? Do you pray with declaration and belief that God can and will show up?
As you look at the year ahead and all that you hope it will be, take heart in knowing that Jesus can handle your biggest prayers. Have faith so bold in 2024 that it would tear off a roof!
Pray
– Pray that God would stir up a boldness in your prayer life like never before.
– Pray that God would use you to “tear off the roof” for the people of India.
Take Action
– Read Mark 2:1-12 and consider how God might be calling you to grow in boldness through your prayers for others.
– Spend a few minutes reading recent stories from India here to see how God is moving in India today.
– Click here to sign up for our India Intercessor email. Each morning, you’ll get a brief prayer request for India delivered right to your inbox.
