Global Prayer Resources: Operation World and Window on the World and More

How can we better pray for our brothers and sisters around the world? Operation World and Window on the World help us pray for God’s people wherever they may be found.

Note: these are some of our featured titles for our 2024 Summer Reading Program—Around the World: Asia & Africa! You can buy this book, and the rest, through our Summer Reading Book Fair with Storyglory Kids. (Use our coupon code Redeemed15 for 15% off your books!).

Operation World, edited by Jason Mandryk. IVP, 2010 (7th edition). 978 pages.

Operation World has been around for decades, but the latest edition is easily double the size of the first copy I had! For those of you who are unfamiliar with this resource, Operation World is the prayer guide for the nations. All of them. Of course, as with any print guide, some of the country information will be out of date due to constantly changing global boundary lines and war zones. But Operation World is updated regularly and substantially, and its prayer suggestions are rarely out of date!

How Operation World Is Organized

This giant book is divided into multiple sub-sections. The first major subsection is a guide to each continent as a whole. Following that opening part are smaller chapters for each country. Countries are listed alphabetically, rather than geographically. This helps readers quickly find the country they are looking for! Each continent’s chapter includes regional information (statistics, regions of the continent, maps) and is followed by prayer requests. Prayer requests are sub-divided into answers to prayer (this is so exciting!), trends, hot spots, the church in that region, and the work still do to. Individual countries are given few pages: map, basic data for the country, and “challenges to prayer.”

Perhaps the most helpful part of this tome is the opening chapter that helps readers know how to use this book. Suggestions are given for homes, schools, churches, those needing to do research, and those wanting to use Operation World for a specific event, such as a Day of Prayer.

The 7th Edition of Operation World

For those of you who have seen this book, or perhaps have it on your shelf already: Why buy the latest edition? For one thing, the country information is updated (and that occasionally includes entire new countries added!). Additionally, this newer volume has updated graphics and charts. I think it’s much easier to read and navigate than the volume I had originally. It maintains the excellent organization and user-friendly nature of the previous volumes, but it seems easier to read.

Operation World isn’t the sort of book you will read through like you might a narrative nonfiction book, but it is an invaluable resource to have on hand for your prayer times. When a missionary speaks at church, look up the information about his or her country in the book! When you read a book set in another country, look up the information about that country in Operation World. Use your reading time to spur you on to praying for those countries and continents.

Window on the World, edited by Molly Wall. IVP, 2018. 224 pages.

Window on the World highlights fewer countries than Operation World, but it includes color photographs, stories, and lots of information geared more for children and teens to help families know how to pray for a given country, the church in that country, and the various challenges facing Christians in that country. Maps, flags, and basic facts are also included so children and teens can learn a bit about where the country is and what it is like in general.

One of my favorite parts of this volume is the section on things to thank God for. Additionally, this book has resources on many of the world’s major religions.

This is a fantastic resource for families to use when praying for the nations. We’ve included it in our 2024 Summer Reading program!

Related Reading from Redeemed Reader

• Review: A fun book that helps your children and teens picture the world God made: If the World Were 100 People
• Review: Another picture book all about maps and geography: Prisoners of Geography
• Resource: Our 2024 Summer Reading Program is Around the World: Asia & Africa. Journey with us!

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