prescription for powerful prayer

by Kenneth Eagleton

When missions is mentioned, most people immediately think going and giving. These are important elements of cross-cultural missions. But another element is just as important, yet often neglected— prayer. Paul, great missionary of the New Testament, pled with his supporters, “Brethren, pray for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:25). Paul knew the importance of prayer.

Many times we neglect to pray because we are not sure our prayers actually accomplish anything. We might not voice it that way, but deep down that is the way we operate. Prayer does make a difference. It is a bridge between the natural world we live in and the unseen, spiritual world. God is pleased when we pray, even though He already has knowledge of the things for which we pray. He wants us to communicate with Him. We love to hear our children tell us something, even though we know what they are going to say.
 

Praying for missionaries

How should we pray for missionaries? What is the prescription for powerful prayer? One of the most common prayers I hear is: “Lord, bless all the missionaries.” While that prayer is not wrong, it is very generic. Does the Bible give us any clues about how to pray effectively for missionaries? Yes, it does.

Pray for open doors of opportunity. Paul stressed the need for earnest and vigilant prayer for opportunities to share the gospel in his letter to the believers in Colossae (Colossians 4:3). We need to pray that God will open doors of opportunity for missionaries to proclaim the gospel.

Missionaries sometimes feel they don’t have many good opportunities; other times they are almost overwhelmed by opportunities. Paul prayed for an open door, and God gave him opportunities (2 Corinthians 16:8-9). Let’s pray that God will give our missionaries those “great and effective” opportunities. Notice that opposition comes with the.

Pray for protection of our missionaries. When Paul asked the Thessalonians to pray for his ministry, he said, “…that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for all men have not faith” (2 Thessalonians 3:2). Some people are unreasonable and evil and want to harm missionaries when they arrive in their land with the gospel. We need to pray for their protection. Our missionaries can tell innumerable stories of deliverance from those who wished to do them harm. No doubt it was because of their prayer support. We need to double up on that support as we enter ever more dangerous locales. Many missionaries run great risks to deliver the gospel message.

Pray missionaries will proclaim the gospel clearly. Communicating in another language to people of another culture is tricky. Sometimes things don’t come out the way we intend. Often what we say can be misunderstood. One of the great challenges a missionary faces is cross-cultural communication. After asking the Colossians to pray for a door of opportunity to preach the gospel, Paul continued, “that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak” (Col. 4:4). He wanted to preach the gospel, but he wanted to do it in a way that would be understod. Pray for missionaries to communicate clearly.

Pray for workers. The Lord Jesus Christ emphasized the need for workers in a plentiful harvest field (Matthew 9:37-38). Billions of people remain unreached with the gospel message. Entire people groups have not received the good news. Someone needs to cross language, cultural, and geographical barriers to tell them. Ask the Lord of the Harvest to call more workers.
 

Praying for the spread of the gospel

Pray that the gospel will spread rapidly. It is urgent that the gospel be taken to those that have never heard (1 Thessalonians 3:1a). Each day, 70,000 people across the globe enter eternity without ever hearing about the Savior. We need to get the gospel out swiftly.

Pray that the gospel will be well received. Not only does the Good News need to get out quickly, it needs to be well received (1 Thessalonians 3:1b). When the Word of the Lord arrives and is received well, people accept it and cherish it, just as the Thessalonians did. Pray the gospel will be well received and many will turn to faith in Christ.
 

Praying for new believers

Pray God will help new believers understand His will. Even when we do remember to intercede for missionaries, we often forget to pray for those who put their faith in Christ as a result of the missionary’s witness. They also need our prayers.

The Apostle Paul consistently prayed for those who came to Christ in the cities where he preached. And, in writing to the believers at Colossae, where he never visited, he says, “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Colossians 1:9). Notice that Paul’s prayers were ongoing. Pray for new believers. They sometimes face circumstances we cannot even imagine.

Pray they will be kept from the “evil one.” In a magnificent prayer for the disciples in the upper room on that last evening before the crucifixion, Jesus prayed for the Father to protect them from the evil one (John 17:16). Jesus knew they would be tempted by the devil. A deceiver and a liar, Satan will entice and try to trip up believers, especially those who have newly put their faith in Christ. Pray for them. Pray that leadership in other countries will resist the temptations of power, lust, and greed.

Jesus continues His petition by acknowledging that the truth of God’s Word leads to true transformation (verse 17, and the holiness God desires for each of us. In verse 20, Jesus indicates that proclaiming the Good News is a multiplication process. The missionary will proclaim the gospel to some. These, in turn, go out and win others to the Lord. Jesus prayed for them all. We can pray that new believers will win others to Christ in a never-ending multiplication process.

Pray for unity. Jesus also prayed for unity that night in the upper room. He knew this would be a tremendous challenge to Christians everywhere, in every century. He made it clear that, in the same way that the Father and the Son are one, believers should be one with the Father and Son, and also with each other. This is quite a feat—bringing people together who previously were enemies, who are from different cultures, languages, and preferences. But Jesus said this would give evidence to the world that He is who He says He is. We need to get on our knees and pray for unity: unity at home, unity of believers on our fields, unity of believers from all lands.

The Bible has much more to say about prayer and missions. Much more could be said. What is clear is that we have plenty to pray for. It is just a matter of faithfully exercising it. What a difference this could make in our missionary efforts!
 

About the Writer: Kenneth Eagleton grew up in a missionary home, served with his wife Rejane as a medical and leadership-training missionary in Côte d’Ivoire for more than 20 years, and now lives and trains leaders in Campinas, Brazil. Learn more about Free Will Baptist International Missions at www.fwbgo.com.