I’ve always been fascinated by how prayer works across cultures. There’s something beautiful about Christians from completely different backgrounds coming together in worship, whether they’re speaking different languages, coming from other traditions, or separated by thousands of miles. Prayer has this unique ability to connect us when everything else might divide us.
When we talk about discipleship, helping others grow spiritually and become more like Christ, prayer isn’t just important. It’s essential. And when does that discipleship cross cultural lines? Prayer becomes the bridge that makes it all possible.
What the Bible Shows Us About Prayer Across Cultures
The Apostle Paul is my favorite example of this. Here’s a guy who spent his life reaching people who were nothing like him, Gentiles from all over the Roman Empire. If you read through his letters, you’ll notice something: he’s constantly praying for these churches. In Ephesians 1:15-23, he prays for spiritual wisdom and revelation. In Colossians 1:9-14, he’s asking God to fill them with knowledge of His will. Paul understood that something crucial: prayer was the foundation for building these cross-cultural spiritual relationships.
But there’s an even more powerful example. In John 17, we get to listen in on Jesus praying. Scholars call it the “High Priestly Prayer,” but what strikes me most is what Jesus prays for in verses 20-23. He’s asking for unity, not just among His immediate disciples, but for all believers across all time and cultures. Think about that for a moment. Jesus, knowing everything that was about to happen, chose to spend His final hours praying for our unity across every imaginable cultural divide.
These passages teach us some key things: we need to intercede for one another, we should actively seek unity despite our differences, and we need to depend on God’s power to transform hearts in ways we could never do on our own.
Building a Cross-Cultural Prayer Life
So how do we do this? It’s one thing to say prayer matters; it’s another to live it out. Here’s what I’ve learned works:
Get curious about how others pray. One of the richest experiences I’ve had was attending a multicultural prayer gathering where I heard people pray in Korean, Spanish, Swahili, and Arabic. Even when I couldn’t understand the words, I could sense the heart behind them. Seek out opportunities to pray with Christians from different backgrounds. You’ll be amazed at what you learn.
Mix it up. Try incorporating prayers from different traditions into your personal prayer time. Maybe use the Lord’s Prayer in another language or learn a prayer practice from the African church or the ancient Celtic Christians. It stretches you and shows respect for the diverse ways God’s people connect with Him.
Pray specifically for other cultures. I keep a list of countries and people groups to pray for regularly. It keeps my perspective from becoming too narrow and reminds me that the church is so much bigger than my own community. Pray for their specific challenges, their joys, and their spiritual needs.
Be sensitive and thoughtful. When you’re praying with someone from a different culture, take time to understand their context. What might seem like a small thing to you could be deeply significant to them. Listen more than you assume.
What Actually Happens When We Pray
I wish I could tell you every story I’ve heard about how prayer has changed discipleship relationships across cultures. Missionaries tell me all the time that doors opened through prayer that seemed permanently closed. I know of churches where years of tension between different ethnic groups began to dissolve after they committed to praying together regularly.
One story that sticks with me involves a church, a genuinely multicultural congregation with people from dozens of countries. They started a weekly prayer meeting in which they specifically interceded for different cultural groups in their church. What happened was remarkable. People who’d barely spoken to each other started collaborating on ministry projects. Cultural misunderstandings that had caused friction began to be resolved. Prayer created space for understanding to grow.
A friend who does missionary work in Southeast Asia told me something similar. He said that prayer times with local believers, even when they struggled with language barriers, built trust faster than anything else he tried. There’s something about praying together that cuts through surface-level differences and connects hearts.
Making Prayer Central to Discipleship
If we want to build discipleship relationships that cross cultural lines, prayer can’t be an afterthought. It must be woven into everything we do. Regular prayer times together. Prayer partnerships. Teaching about why prayer matters. Encouraging people to pray for the global church, not just their immediate circle.
The thing is, when we pray across cultures, we’re not just being nice or politically correct. We’re participating in what Jesus Himself prayed for, that unity that shows the world who He is. We’re acknowledging that the church is gloriously diverse and that we need each other.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Here’s my challenge to you: don’t let this just be another article you read and forget. Think about your own prayer life and discipleship relationships. Are they confined to people who look like you, talk like you, worship like you? What would it look like to intentionally build bridges through prayer?
Let’s start by finding one person from a different cultural background and asking if you can pray together. Or commit to praying for a missionary friend working in another culture. Or expand your prayers to include the global church in meaningful, specific ways.
Prayer really does have the power to unite us across every cultural divide. I’ve seen it happen too many times to doubt it. And in a world that seems more divided every day, that kind of unity, the kind that only God can create, is exactly what we need.
Biblical References Cited:
John 17:20-23
Ephesians 1:15-23
Colossians 1:9-14
Global Discipleship Network 