In the 1940s and 1950s, there was a great missions prayer movement both in churches and on college campuses.  Missionary David Howard records for us the prayer atmosphere at Wheaton College during this time.  His best friend in college was the soon-to-be-famous missionary, Jim Elliot.  A few short years after college, Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Pete Fleming, Ed McCully, and Roger Youderian would be martyred in Ecuador while reaching the Auca Indians with the gospel. Their sacrifice would not be in vain.  God would greatly use these young men’s death to inspire and call thousands of young people to be missionaries and stir churches all over America for the cause of world missions.  

Here is David Howard’s story: 

I still have a small, faded World Evangelism Decision Card dated 1946, with my signature.  Unfortunately, I did not record the day, but it is quite possible that I signed this card at the close of the first student missionary convention at the University of Toronto.

The card used to be green.  I can tell by the small green circle where a thumb tack was used to hold this card above my desk through the rest of my college days. It served as a daily prayer reminder that I had committed myself to serve God overseas unless he were clearly to direct otherwise. The fact that I had 15 years of exciting service in Latin America is attributable in large measure to prayer, much of it stimulated by that little card.

Upon returning to college after the Toronto convention, students began to meet regularly to pray for missions. My closest friend in college was Jim Elliott. Jim was only to live for a few years beyond college, but in that short life, he would leave a mark for eternity on my life and the lives of hundreds of others. Exactly ten years to the week when the Toronto convention ended, Jim and his four companions were speared to death by the Huaorani Indians on the Curary River in Ecuador. In his death, he would speak to multiplied thousands, although we did not know that in our college days. Jim encouraged a small group of us to meet every day at 6:30 AM to pray for ourselves and our fellow students on behalf of missions. This became a regular part of my college life.

Jim Elliot also organized around the clock cycle, asking students to sign up for a 15-minute slot each day when he or she would promise to pray for missions and for mission recruitment on our campus. The entire 24 hours were filled in this way. Thus, every 15 minutes throughout the day and night, at least one student was on his knees interceding for missions at Wheaton College.

Art Wiens Was a war veteran who had served in Italy and planned to return as a missionary. He decided to pray systematically through the college directory, praying for ten students by name every day.  Art followed this faithfully through his college years.  

I did not see art again until we met in 1974 at the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Switzerland. as we renewed fellowship and reminisced about old times, he said, “Dave, do you remember those prayer meetings we used to have at Wheaton?”

” I certainly do,” I replied.

Then Art said, “you know, Dave, I am still praying for 500 of our college contemporaries who are now on the mission field.”  “How do you know that many are overseas?”  I asked.  “I kept in touch with the alumni office and found out who was going as a missionary, and I still pray for them.”

Astounded, I asked our if I could see his prayer list. The next day he brought it to me, a battered old notebook he had started in college days with the names of hundreds of our classmates and fellow students.

From David Howard, “The Road to Urbana and Beyond,” Evangelical Missions Quarterly 21 (January 1985)

2Th 3:1  Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:

Col 4:3  Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:

Eph 6:18-19 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;  And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,