One of the great blessings the Society enjoys is the prayerful support and interest of its many friends throughout the world. Under God, our strength lies in the prayers of the Lord’s people, as they beseech the Throne of Grace for the advancement of His glory and the prosperity of His Cause through the circulation of His Holy Word. Therefore, the prayers of each of the readers of the Quarterly Record, who share with us this spiritual burden, are greatly valued.

We are exhorted by the Lord in His Holy Word not to despise the day of small things. It may be that we are living in a spiritually dark and evil day, but nevertheless—and in the very midst of His righteous judgements—we may be assured that the Lord is fulfilling His gracious purposes of mercy and grace in the world. In this Divine activity He is so ordering all the events of the world (both small and great) that they will fall out to the greater glory of His Name and the spiritual benefit of His Kingdom. Surely in such a day as that in which we live, we may not only find comfort in the opening words of Psalm 46, ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble’, but also listening to the wondrous declaration of Almighty God in the penultimate verse of the Psalm where He says to His burdened people, ‘Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth’, we can (by the grace of God) echo the words of the inspired Psalmist as he concludes the Psalm, ‘The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah’.

The annals of history may not acknowledge either the hand of the Almighty Lord of Hosts in His Divine ordering of providence, nor the place that the ‘effectual fervent prayers’ of His people have in the outworking of His eternal purposes. Nevertheless, the infallible Word of God not only assures us that there is a Divine order to all that transpires in the world, but it also encourages us to believe that there is a wonderful, and direct, connection between the humble cries of His people and the ‘mighty acts’ of our God. ‘Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit’ (James 5.17,18). Whilst this connection must never be thought of as though it were mechanical in any form, implying that we had any inherent power or ability, it is nevertheless a gracious encouragement to the people of God to plead the promises of His Word.

‘For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope’ (Romans 15.4). He who said, with regard to His purposes of grace and mercy to His ancient people, ‘I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it’, is also He who said in the following sentence, ‘Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them’ (Ezekiel 36.36,37). How true this is with regard to the Lord’s spiritual dealings in His redemptive work now, among both Jew and Gentile! The Lord Jesus Christ, the mighty God and Saviour, is yet going forth by His Spirit in the chariot of His Gospel, ‘conquering, and to conquer’ (Revelation 6.2), prospering the work of His grace amongst sinners in the world to His glory!

We would therefore encourage our friends to continue to seek the spirit of prayer for the Society in all its activities. May they be enabled to humble themselves before the Throne of Grace and beseech the Triune Jehovah for His blessing to rest upon the publication and distribution of His Word among all nations. In addition to the great variety of general needs of the Society—for all of which, day-by-day, we stand in need of the Lord’s indispensable help—we would draw your attention to our many Bible translation projects. ‘Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God’ (Philippians 4.6).

First published in Quarterly Record 563. Last updated 4 August 2025.