Prayer for God’s Mission

Introduction
I suspect that many of you are supporting Trevor and Rebekah in prayer. It was interesting when we told them that we would pray for them, they also indicated a commitment to pray for us. It was unique to experience a two way prayer relationship with them.
When you read the letters of the New Testament, you often read that the apostle Paul prayed for the churches which he had been involved with. In fact often we hear him engaging in deeply concerned prayer for them. But the prayer relationship did not only go one way. We also read many places in which Paul requests prayer for himself and the mission he is involved with. For example, in I Thessalonians 5:25 he asks, “Brothers, pray for us.”
Today has been designated as a day of prayer for missions. In order to focus our attention on that, I would like to look at those passages in the Bible in which we are invited to pray for God’s mission. From these passages we can learn some important lessons about how to pray for missionaries.
Prayer for missionaries is very important. Jonathan Goforth was a Canadian missionary who worked in China in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. He said, "All movements of the Spirit in China, within our experience, may be traced to prayer."
John Piper says that before we talk about prayer we need to talk about war. The point he goes on to make is that we need to recognize that we will not be moved to prayer until we realize the seriousness of the situation we are in. We have an amazing message of love and hope for the whole world, but we have an enemy who is working against that good news. We are living in a world which is generally opposed to the gospel. We know that there are masses of people who are lost. Whether here at home or as missionaries on the field, there are many challenges which are beyond our human ability to deal with. This is all serious stuff and when we recognize that, we know that we must pray. I trust that we are people who are deeply concerned about the kingdom of God and not just about making a nice comfortable life for ourselves here on earth. I trust that we understand the stakes in the business of being followers of Jesus. I trust that we are people who are motivated to pray.
If we are motivated to pray for the mission of God, then the question is, “How do you pray for God’s mission?” Let us look at some of the passages about such prayer in the New Testament.
Pray For More Workers
One of the first prayers which the Bible mentions for God’s mission is the prayer for workers. In Matthew 9:38 we read the appeal of Jesus: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
In Acts 13, it tells us that the church in Antioch was fasting and worshipping God and while they were, God called Paul and Barnabas to go out to accomplish His mission in Asia and Macedonia. Prayer initiated and accompanied this calling of missionaries.
Since the work is urgent and since it is accomplished by people, we need to pray that God will send those whom He has called into the work.
On the World Team website, there is a list of mission related things to pray for and one of those things is to pray for willing servants: “Pray for more co-laborers willing to go and make disciples.”
So as we pray, let us not forget this request.
But our focus this morning is primarily on prayer for the missionaries themselves. We have a number of missionaries from our congregation, how do we pray for them well?
Pray For Protection
Whenever people travel we often pray for their protection. When we are in the midst of seeding or harvest, we have often requested prayer for the protection of the farmers. In life there are dangers which face all of us. Missionaries face all of the dangers which we face and also some which are unique to them.
Although all of us face the attacks of the enemy, I suspect that missionaries face these attacks even more. A few weeks ago Dave and Judy asked us to pray about attacks which they were experiencing from the enemy. On top of that we also know that because they are bringing the gospel into territory where people are sometimes hostile to it, they will face opposition from enemies of the gospel. One of the greatest dangers faced by missionaries is disunity in the team. Satan tries to break up the work by sowing dissent among those who are supposed to be working together. Because they travel more than the rest of us, they are more at risk from travel related dangers. Because they are working in foreign countries, they often face dangers from the governments of those countries. On top of that there are dangers with discouragement, doubt and fear.
On more than one occasion, Paul requested prayer for protection.
In Romans 15:30 he speaks about his upcoming trip to Jerusalem. This was the trip on which he delivered the gift to the Jerusalem church from the Gentile churches, which we spoke about last Sunday. He was aware that since he used to be strongly connected to the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem but had become a follower of Christ, he was in danger from those who were unbelievers. He asked the Roman church, “…join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea…”
In II Corinthians 1:8-11 we have another instance of Paul’s request that they support him in prayers of protection. In verses 8 & 10 we read, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life…On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us as you help us by your prayers.” In this passage we see what Hughes speaks of, that “In prayer, human impotence casts itself at the feet of divine omnipotence.” Paul and those with him were in great danger. They needed God’s help and a significant part of receiving that help was the prayers of the church.
II Thessalonians 3:1-3 is another such passage. There we read, “Finally, brothers, pray for us …that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith.” How often mention is made that there is opposition! This should not surprise us since Jesus Himself warned that the gospel would be opposed. That urgency makes it most necessary that we pray for protection for missionaries in all of these different dangers.
Pray For Power
Of course we realize that prayer is needed for the work that the missionaries do. The texts which speak of prayer mention some specific ways in which we can pray for the work.
Open Doors
In the same World Team web site which requested prayer, we also read, “It is God who opens new doors for the Gospel. Pray for favor from governments and authorities for missionaries needing visas and for churches seeking places to meet together. Pray that the Gospel would prosper, even in the face of persecution.”
Paul has a similar request for open doors for the gospel in Colossians 4:2, 3 where we read, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 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.” The question here is, “what kind of an open door is Paul talking about?” He was in prison at this time and so perhaps he is asking them to pray that the door of the prison would open. Or, perhaps, since he was in prison he is praying that the opportunities in the prison would be an open door. We know that there were times when he had effective ministry while in prison. Or, perhaps he is just seeking God to know where they should next concentrate their efforts of gospel ministry. Probably it doesn’t really matter. God is the one who opens the doors for the work and we need to ask Him to open doors for individual missionaries and also for missionary movements.
Boldness
If we are honest, we know that many of us are afraid to share Christ. We don’t want to be pushy, we are afraid of what kind of response we will get or perhaps we are shy. Of course missionaries are special people. They don’t have these kinds of fears. They are always bold and willing to speak about Jesus in any situation. Certainly the apostle Paul had no such fears… or did he? If he didn’t why then did he ask the church to pray that he would have boldness to speak the word of God?
In Ephesians 6:19, 20 Paul asks the church, “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”
I think it is important to know that missionaries struggle with many of the same things we do and so also sometimes struggle with fears and sometimes are also intimidated. We need to pray that they will be bold in their willingness and ability to do God’s work.
Clarity
The Bible says in I Corinthians 1:22, “we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…” We know that the gospel is not always easy to understand and we know that anyone who engages in proclaiming it will struggle to make things clear. Therefore it is important to pray that when missionaries communicate the gospel it will be communicated with clarity. Paul invites such prayer in Colossians 4:2-4 where he says, “pray for us…Pray that I may proclaim (the mystery of Christ) clearly, as I should.”
That clarity of gospel proclamation needs to happen in several ways. The gospel is communicated by our lifestyle. If there is a confusing signal from the way in which we live, the gospel will not be communicated clearly. We need to pray that the lifestyle of missionaries will be a clear communication of the love of Christ. This is particularly so in light of the fact that missionaries are involved in cross cultural communication. Last year when we were in Israel, we were in a church. The person who was talking to us in this church told us that we should not put our hands in our pockets and we should not cross our legs. We thought that was rather funny, but we found out later that in the Middle Eastern culture, these were signs of rudeness. Missionaries deal with differences of cultural understanding all the time and we need to pray that they will communicate the gospel clearly as they should through sensitivity to culture. Of course, it is also necessary to pray that when they open their mouths, the words that come out will be clear. The added challenge for missionaries is that often that communication is in a language in which they are not all that fluent.
I hope we are beginning to see that the work of prayer is an important part of what God is doing through mission.
That the Gospel Will Be Honored
Probably the prayer we most often do pray for missionaries is that they will have success in their endeavors. II Thessalonians 3:1 has an interesting phrase in this regard. Paul asks, “Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.” The phrase “spread rapidly” actually means “run” in Greek. New King James Version catches the sense nicely when it says, “…pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly…” The Message is interesting when it says, “Pray that the Master’s Word will simply take off and race through the country to a groundswell of response.”
I know that missionaries love to see response to their work because it is their desire to see the kingdom of God spread and to see God honored. We can have a part in that as we pray for the success of their endeavors. We have heard of the work which Dennis and Amanda are doing and sometimes it seems like very slow going. When we hear such reports of slow progress, it should motivate us to pray the prayer which Paul models for us here.
Pray For Personal Needs
On several occasions Paul requests prayer for what seem to be more personal issues. In Romans 15:32 he writes, “…Pray… that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.” Hebrews 13:19 has a similar request, “I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.”
Every missionary has any number of personal concerns. They have left family behind. Sometimes they may have parents or siblings who are going through illness, and they can’t be there. Children are a concern. Where will they be educated? How will they fit into the home culture once they return? On top of that, we should be fully aware that any concerns which we have in our home or family or among our circle of friends, missionaries also have. I have sometimes made it a practice that whatever personal concern I am praying about for myself, I also pray for the missionaries about the same type of concern.
Conclusion
Brian Thiessen, who is a pastor in Ontario, in a message he preached called “The Missionary’s Greatest Need” told the following story: The incident is told of a young couple, when bidding farewell to their home country church as they were about to leave for an African field, known as "The White Man's Grave," the husband said, "My wife and I have a strange dread in going. We feel much as if we were going down into a pit. We are willing to take the risk and go if you, our home circle, will promise to hold the ropes." One and all promised. Less than two years passed when the wife and the little one God had given them succumbed to the dreaded fever. Soon the husband realized his days, too, were numbered. Not waiting to send word home of his coming, he started back at once and arrived at the hour of the Wednesday prayer meeting. He slipped in unnoticed, taking a back seat. At the close of the meeting he went forward. Awe came over the people, for death was written on his face. He said, "I am your missionary. My wife and child are buried in Africa and I have come home to die. This evening I listened anxiously, as you prayed for some mention of your missionary to see if you were keeping your promise, but in vain! You prayed for everything connected with yourselves and your home church, but forgot your missionary. I see now why I am a failure as a missionary. It is because you have failed to hold the ropes."
May we be faithful in praying for our missionaries! In the outline in the bulletin I have included an acronym which may help us to remember to pray for our missionaries in all the different ways we have spoken of today.
BLESS -- an acronym to guide your prayer for a missionary.
B -- Body
Pray for physical health and nutrition.
L - Labor.
Pray for their work.
E - Emotions.
Pray for emotional health and well-being of the missionary.
S - Social.
Pray for their social relations, their families and extended families. Pray that God will keep marriages together.
S - Spiritual.
Pray for their spiritual condition.
contributed by CMA missionary Lisa Miriam Rohrick