How To Pray for a missionary

 

Col 4:3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. (NIV)

2Th 3:1 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honoured, just as it was with you. (NIV)

Heb 13:18 Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honourably in every way. (NIV)

We are all used to missionaries coming in. And what do they do? They ask for money! And they must, for –

Ro 10:13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (NIV)

Ro 10:14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (NIV)

Ro 10:15 And how can they preach unless they are sent . . .

And how can they be sent unless they have travel money and money to operate on. I hope we all understand that missionaries are not rich people who decided to quit working and go preach. Missionary work is hard work, thankless work, and it doesn’t really pay in cash. And our denomination is not an organization with a stockpile of money somewhere to draw from. We spend everything we get spreading the gospel, and that is the way it should be.

But missionaries need more than money. They need prayer!

But how do you effecctively pray for a missionary?

Col 4:3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. (NIV)

1. First, pray for open doors. No one can come to Christ unless the Father draw them. God can open any door. No matter how tightly the door may be shut, God, in his time, can open it.

 

2Th 3:1 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honoured, just as it was with you. (NIV)

  1. That the message may spread and be honored. It’s not enough just to preach. The message must be received. We pray not only for open doors but for open hearts. Pray that the Holy Spirit will prepare the soil for the seed of the gospel. Pray that God would soften people’s hearts so that the message will get in.
    2.

     

    Heb 13:18 Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honourably in every way. (NIV)

  2. Pray for their spiritual lives. Missionaries are men and women who want to honor God with their lives. But the road is not easy. There are many obstacles. There is spiritual opposition, of course, and we need to pray for their protection. Many missionaries face grave danger every day.

    3. But they also face frustration. Sometimes it takes many years to see your first convert. It can be disheartening and discouraging. And then there are the cultural differences. Things don’t always move as quickly and efficiently in other countries as they might here. It may take all day just to mail a package because the post office may be closed, or someone may be running late (according to your time schedule). You may have to watch to make sure the postal worker doesn’t steal your stamps off of your package when you leave.

    We need to pray for the missionaries that God would give them divine patience and encouragement.

    (We’ve already been told that a plane may or may not leave Athens, Greece on the 21st to take us to Tirana, Albania. We’ll just have to wait and see.)

    The missionary must respect the customs and ways of the people to whom they are sent.

  3. Pray for divine provision. When you’re in another country, especially in third world countries, items are not a readily available as they are here, and they may be much more expensive.

    4. And when you are thousands of miles from home and things go wrong, or you run out of something, or you run out of money, well, what do you do? You trust God! And that’s not always as easy as it sounds.

    You see, we trust God, and pull out a credit card! Or we call a neighbor. Or we call a pastor. What does the missionary do? They just trust God!

  4. Pray for their spiritual enrichment. It’s easy to run out when you’re giving out all the time. They need divine revelation from God. They need divine help. They need fresh spiritual enlightenment and refreshing often.
  5. Pray for their relationships with other missionaries. It’s awful to get stuck in a foreign land with someone you can’t get along with. Now, you don’t think about that kind of thing when you think of missionaries, but remember, missionaries are people, too. They need fellowship, and they need it with somebody they like. Pray for them in these areas.

Believe it or not, lots of missionaries have had to leave the mission field over one or more of these concerns. They need our prayer support more than anything else.
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