By Dr. Gene Burge
One of the sad things that I notice as I preach in churches is that most Christians
do not know how to pray effectively for missionaries.
Let me give you suggestions, from personal experience and observations, on ''How
To Pray For YOUR Missionaries.''
1. Pray For The Missionary By Name. Get to know them and their family personally.
Use their prayer card and make a family profile on them. Learn the names of the
husband, wife and children. Write to them and ask for their birthdays, anniversaries,
etc. Read their prayer letters and make note of any specific needs. Make a card
on each family and pray for them.
2. Pray Regularly For Them. Come up with a system where you will pray for
them on a regular basis. If you use a card system, you can pray for a missionary
at mealtime, during your devotions, etc. The key is making it a part of your daily
life. Of course if the Lord puts a special burden on your heart for them, pray for
them then and there.
3. Pray Specifically For Them. Here are ''a few'' specifics that you can
consider as you pray for them.
Pray For Their Family: They are invading the devil's territory and he will
do everything he can to attack and destroy their family. Remember to pray for the
husband and wife's relationship. Pray their love will grow stronger towards each
other. Pray for their children, their spiritual growth, education, etc. Pray that
the Lord will use them as a family unit in the work of the Lord.
Pray For The Single Missionary: They face a whole set of different problems
on the field. As a single missionary, they are alone and will constantly do battle
against the flesh and the powers of darkness. Pray that they will not anguish over
difficulties and opposition. Pray for their faith to be strong.
Pray For Their Finances: Money problems have always been one of the top reasons
why missionaries become discouraged and quit. The average missionary will lose a
good deal of their needed support during a four year term on the field. Many missionaries
go to the mission field with ''just enough support to make it.'' So when churches
drop their support, inflation hits, or currency devaluates, the devil will use these
things to cause them great hardship. We should also pray for the churches that support
our missionaries.
Pray For Their Cultural Adjustment: Culture shock is very real. Many missionaries
have a difficult time adjusting to new foods, life styles, value systems, and ways
of doing things. To reach the people in their own culture is a hard lesson for some
missionaries to learn. Some missionaries react wrongly on the field and encumber
their fellowship and witness for the Lord. Pray that the missionary family will
be able to adjust in order to be happy and have an effective ministry.
Pray For Strength For Their Daily Tasks: Everyday living on the mission field
can often consume much of their time. A preacher, who served for almost forty years
as a pastor then became a missionary overseas, told me how surprised he was at the
amount of time it took everyday just to do the daily routines of life in another
country. And he lives in a modern country!
Multiply that frustration many times over with life in a third world country. Think
of the everyday frustrations like open markets for ''daily'' shopping, long lines
in small, under stocked stores, lack of cars or appliances, problems with cooking,
banking, mail, lack of electricity, no air conditioning or hot water, etc. In this
modern day that we live, some have problems with the lack of fast food restaurants
- McDonald's withdrawal!
Pray For Their Ability To Learn The Language: The missionaries must not only
adapt culturally, but they must also be able to share the love of Christ with the
people they are seeking to reach. To communicate the Gospel is the reason they are
on the mission field. If they are going to reach the people, they must learn the
language. Learning the language is the key to everything the missionary does. Many
languages are complicated to learn. A superficial knowledge of the language makes
it very difficult to communicate the Gospel message.
Pray For Their Health: Among the main reasons why missionaries leave the
mission field is for health problems. Many missionaries live and work in harsh climates
where various diseases are wide-spread. Numerous times, they have little or no medical
help available. To get good medical help, frequently they must leave that country
to find it elsewhere.
Pray For Their Spiritual Growth And Walk With The Lord: They need to be feeding
on God's Word, have a strong prayer life, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and grow
in grace in order to have an effective life and ministry.
Pray For Their Pressures, Discouragement, Loneliness And Fears: They are
in the thick of the spiritual battle. They face emotional struggles with little
or no help. Many times when missionaries have problems, they feel they can't share
it with anyone. The devil can really use this fear to cause them to hold everything
inside until they react wrongly or quit.
Pray For Godly Wisdom For Them: James 1:5 says, ''If any of you lack wisdom,
let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it
shall be given him.'' Certainly they will need this in order to raise a godly family
and to do a work for the Lord.
Pray for Their Relationship With The Government Of The Country They Are Ministering:
Passports, visas, taxes, education of their children, etc. have become real problems
for missionaries as they deal with government officials.
Pray The Lord Will Give Them Broken Hearts For The People They Minister:
''They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.'' Psalm 126:5
Pray For Their Ministry And Converts: Pray that the Lord will give open doors
and hearts to be receptive to the Gospel. As people are reached with the Gospel,
pray that the converts will become strong in the Lord, as well as the ministries
and churches that are established.
Pray For The Power Of God On Them: It is easy to labor in the flesh by depending
on one's own strength, wisdom, and ability to accomplish a ministry, but how fruitless
this would be. Only missionaries with God's power will be seeing souls saved and
a ministry that will stand the test of time.
Pray - Pray - Pray that the missionaries might be continually filled with
the power.