Prayer Guidelines

We ask that you remember the following general topics as you pray for the specific needs of each Bible Society:

Funds: Bible Societies rely on financial support from churches and contributions made by individuals or organisations to maintain Bible translation work, the supply of subsidised or free Scriptures, other Bible-based programs and the means to deliver them to their audiences.

Membership: people and churches can sometimes become members of a Bible Society or join a regular contribution scheme. This establishes the Society’s funding on a firmer basis and enables it to plan ahead with more certainty. Many Societies regularly hold events designed specifically to increase their membership.

Staff: the staff who work at the national Bible House often have need of prayer arising from their work. In some parts of the world, Bible distributors and promoters show great dedication in making long and frequently hazardous journeys to remote places. Translation consultants also travel in order to work among the people for whom they are translating the Scriptures. Many translators experience the pressures of fulfilling commitments to their family and community at the same time as doing their translation work.

National Boards: Bible Society General Secretaries are accountable to members of their national board, who may belong to a range of Christian traditions and may be local businessmen and women. All give their time freely and undergo training designed to acquaint them with the role. Their influence on the strategic direction of a Society is considerable.

Relationships with the Churches: this is a crucial issue for all Bible Societies because it is one of every Society’s objectives to serve all Churches. It is often the case that, despite divisions between denominations, Bible work brings Churches together. We need to pray that each Bible Society is able to establish and maintain effective working relationships with all the Churches in order to maximise the impact of Bible work in a nation.

Local production (usually of Selections and Portions, although some Societies print New Testaments and Bibles): some Bible Societies produce Scriptures locally or rely on another Society to produce the required Scriptures in other formats for them. Prayer is needed for wisdom and expertise in the development of local production and in dealings with printers and partner organisations.

Translation teams: the needs of translation teams can range from advanced computer software and academic Bible commentaries to a steady power supply and regular Internet access to maintain effective communication between translators ‘in the field’ and the production centre. In pursuit of its relationship with the Churches (see above), UBS tries to ensure that all the main Churches in an area are represented either by one of the translators or by a member of the committee which reviews the translation, so that the finished product is a Bible that every Church can comfortably use.

Economic and political situation: in addition to the aspects of Bible work described above, please try to bear in mind any difficult economic or political circumstances affecting the countries that you are praying for. Wars, political tension, a change in the religious climate, economic hardship and the increasingly frequent natural disasters are all factors that affect the ability of a Bible Society to carry out its mission effectively and safely.