October 7, 2024
“Sometimes it’s easier to submit to God’s will while praying than to live with the result of His will when the answer is no.”
Lauren Sullens, president of Georgia Woman's Missionary Union, spoke candidly about the mystery of prayer after her 43-year-old husband, Pastor Clint Sullens, died suddenly in April 2024.
Prayer has always been a cornerstone of the Sullens family, and Clint’s last act of ministry on earth was praying for global missions. Despite tragic circumstances, Lauren and the five Sullens children are moving forward in faith and carrying out Clint’s legacy of prayer for the gospel to reach the ends of the earth.
A year before Clint’s passing, Lauren and three other women from Georgia WMU boarded a plane to South Asia, an area familiar with civil unrest, crime, and social religious persecution.
Georgia WMU was seeking a new prayer partner, a place for the state WMU to pray over for several years. Lauren’s group was visiting International Mission Board missionaries Clark and Elizabeth Atwood, who served in South Asia to share the gospel and train up disciples among local believers.
Lauren and Clint met the Atwoods while they were stateside, and the families became fast friends. As Lauren learned of the couple’s ministry in South Asia, she felt God leading toward that location as the new Georgia WMU prayer partner.
“Clint was initially concerned about me going on the trip,” Lauren said, “but he trusted Clark and Elizabeth. He knew we were in good hands.”
The Atwoods serve in a region of South Asia where less than 0.01% of the people are Christian and the majority are culturally Muslim. Like the Sullens family, the Atwoods rely heavily on prayer as part of their ministry.
“We operate with a strategy of prayer,” Clark said. “When the Lord says, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few,’ He doesn’t command us to learn more, go to seminary, or give more money. He says, ‘Pray to the Lord of the harvest.’”
The Georgia WMU women worked with the Atwoods to encourage local believers, prayerwalk, and learn about the culture firsthand. They also had the opportunity to meet Muslim mothers in the park, who allowed the women to pray over them and their children.
On a Tuesday in March 2024, the Atwood and Sullens families joined a nationwide prayer call for South Asia. Clint came home from work feeling tired but looking forward to the event. He and Lauren piled on the couch with their children and joined other families on screen as people took turns praying for areas of South Asian ministry.
“That night, Clint prayed specifically for the men of South Asia, which was so fitting,” said Lauren. “He was passionate about making disciples of other men so they could lead their families well. He knew, from my trip, that the women were more open to the gospel, but the men needed to open their hearts as well.”
After the call, Clark texted Clint that it was good to hear his voice. Clint agreed and said, “This prayer call is so effective; we need to do more of this.”
The following morning, Clint was rushed to the hospital after an unexpected heart attack. Hundreds of believers around the world prayed for Clint’s healing and restoration. He went to be with the Lord a little over a week later.
I posed a difficult question to both Lauren and Clark: How do we, as believers, move forward in the power of prayer when God’s answer looks so different from what we’d hoped for?
“Lament,” Lauren answered firmly. “I’m learning that it’s OK for us to lament when we don’t get the answer we expect from God. We can be honest with Him. We turn to God, we complain, we ask for what we need, and we continue to trust Him.”
She has clung to Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (NIV).
Lauren also noted that all believers share in the sufferings of Jesus, which looks different for every person. “I think of the believers in South Asia, and I can’t imagine some of the things they go through. And still, the Lord is near.”
“This is the daily tension, isn’t it?” Clark responded. “We pray for health and the needs of our loved ones. We hope that God will intervene, holding to the promise that His good and perfect will prevails. Christ’s death and resurrection have already won the victory for us. Clint lives because Christ lives! But we do not yet see the full result of that because we are not yet in glory.”
Clark said the same principle applies to missions. “In eternity past, the blood of Christ has already redeemed a multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language. Right now, we haven’t yet seen that vision come true, though in God’s providence, that promise is fulfilled.”
When reflecting on Clint’s life, Lauren describes him as the most “alive” disciple maker she’s ever known.
“Disciple making doesn’t just happen in a class,” she said. “It’s lived out through fellowship with believers, actionable missions, loving God’s Word, and prayer. Clint lived out that belief in his life here on earth.”
