Meditations

World Day of Prayer for Bible Translation

11 November 2024

Scripture makes it clear that God wants us to live life to the full (John 10:10), he wants us to be fruitful (John 15:5, Galatians 5:22-23) and experience joy (Psalm 16:9-11). He is a good father who loves to give good gifts to his children (Matthew 7:11). Yet so often because of the ways in which we work and because we often do not rest as much as we should, we become weary and discouraged. Let’s look together at what Jesus said about how we can better grow into that fullness and fruitfulness.

Grapes hang from a vine in Tajikistan. Photo: Marc Ewell (2016)

Earlier this year, the Alliance prayer advocacy team had a virtual retreat. After several days reflecting on John 15:1-17 where Jesus refers to himself as the Vine and to us as the branches, one of the team said to me, ‘I’ve never seen a vine with just one branch. It’s difficult to bear fruit in solitude. Branches grow side by side and bear fruit together. There are even large branches that support small branches and help them to produce fruit. All depend on God.’ We invite you to join us in meditating on our interconnectedness as individuals and organisations as branches on the vine together. Spiritual growth can be seen as an individual activity in some cultures. However, in the same way that Scripture refers to the church as the body of Christ (Romans 12:4-5), we know that the Alliance is a community of connected organisations and we believe that part of our strength comes from being interconnected. 

As we seek to grow together, we invite you to consider and meditate on the following:

1. What is our Identity?

v1 I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.

v5 Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.

As we contemplate John 15:1-17 it's a great chance to remind ourselves who we are in Christ. We are neither the vine (Jesus) nor the gardener (the Father). We are the branches of the vine and our responsibility is to remain, be at home, and stay connected to the vine. The vine nourishes us and helps us grow. The gardener prunes us and makes us fruitful. It’s important that we neither take too much responsibility on ourselves by trying to take the role of the gardener or the whole plant, nor separate ourselves from the rest of the vine. We can support weaker branches and help them to grow in a way that enables them to stay connected to the vine.

Reflect: What practical steps will help us remain in him?

Pray:

• Praise God that he has chosen us and made us his children. 
• Thank him for what he has done for us and through us together in his mission. 
• Rejoice that although discipline and pruning are never comfortable, through these things we can experience God’s goodness and become more fruitful.

2. How can we cultivate dependence on God? 

v5 Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

Sometimes we are so busy serving that we forget that the mission is God’s and our role is to partner with him. Where are we depending on God instead of ‘leaning on our own understanding’ (Proverbs 3:5-6)? It’s not always comfortable but we need to be utterly dependent on God because apart from him we can do nothing.

Reflect: How can I encourage my community to more deeply depend on God?

Ask God to show us in what ways he wants us to depend on him more.

Do we believe that the mission is God's and he will provide everything he needs to accomplish his mission?

Pray:

• Tell God how we need him to lead, guide, equip and enable us in his service. 
• Pray, as an expression of our dependence, about all our ‘impossible’ hopes, goals and dreams.
• Listen to his voice to show us his way.

3. What does fruitfulness look like?

v16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

We can praise God that he has chosen us. He has chosen us to be fruitful and to participate with him in his mission.

Fallen tree in UK. Photo: Jo Johnson (2024)

v6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.

We can only be fruitful as part of the vine.

Reflect: In what ways are we in danger of becoming separated from the vine? How can we encourage each other to remain in God’s love?

Pray: 

• Ask God to help us remain in his love.
• Pray for ourselves, staff in our organisation, local partners and international partners to be fruitful.
• Pray that those around us and in the communities where we work will see Christ through our lives.

4. What is the goal of being fruitful?

v8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

There is a difference between productivity and fruitfulness. Productivity is:

the rate at which a company or country makes goods, usually judged in connection with the number of people and the amount of materials necessary to produce the goods.

Spiritual fruitfulness is to become more like Jesus (Galatians 5:22-23). By remaining in Christ together, in unity we point others to God.  Jesus prayed this for us just before he went to the cross (John 17:20-23). 

Reflect: In what ways are we in danger of putting more energy into productivity than becoming more like Christ? 

How can we prioritise seeking to become more like Christ, to bring glory to God in the midst of carrying out our responsibilities?

How can we promote unity?

Pray: 

• Ask God to bring glory to his name throughout the Bible translation movement. 
• Pray for partners and others in the Alliance in contexts where being open about their faith is difficult.
• Ask God to bring peace to areas where ministry is difficult due to wars, instability and other forms of opposition, and to sustain colleagues working in those areas.

5. How do we remain in God’s love?  

v9 I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 

Part of growing in Christ is bold obedience to his Word and to what we sense he is saying to us. It is in obedience that we encounter his power and we shed those things that hold us back. (Hebrews 12:1) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 

Reflect: Where do you sense God’s invitation to renewed commitment and obedience? 

We are a collection of very diverse branches yet part of the same vine. How do we “remain” together in our diversity? 

Psalm 16:9-11 reminds us that we find joy in God’s presence. How can we cultivate joy in our community? 

Pray:  

• Repent if you need to.
• Ask God to redeem difficult situations that have come about through failure to obey.
• Recommit yourself to bold obedience and spending time in God’s presence.
• Pray for staff, partners, projects and others in the Bible translation movement to have an unyielding commitment to obedience and to be filled with God’s joy as a result.

World Day of Prayer 2024

Resources