In our world, we are all too familiar with war. In the past 3400+ years, only 268 of them have been without war (1). And yet, we all fight in a war that’s been raging since the enemy first approached Adam and Eve. There is no neutral ground–you are either fighting for God or fighting for the enemy. As believers, we fight to bring God’s truth and light to a dark world.
Missionaries are the light-bearers on the leading edge of the light as it moves into these dark places. They are the ground troops – the front lines of the body of Christ – as it expands worldwide. They target and move into areas of darkness and fading light. For this reason, they bear the brunt of attacks from the prince of this world’s system of darkness, who sees them as subversive intruders. Light-bearers do not walk about unopposed. We have an enemy, and this is a war.
The Prayer War
To engage in ground war without preparatory air war is to invite disaster. In the spiritual realm, the air war is the Prayer War. It is the offensive battle that tens of thousands of believers scattered all over the earth make on their knees – asking a globally present and powerful God to protect, encourage, enable, and bless the efforts of heaven’s ground forces. And just like with an air offence, the more precise the target, the more effective the attack. Specific prayer is needed over general blessings.
A significant prayer movement like this starts with each believer saying, “It must begin with me.”
Where DO I begin?
If you don’t personally know a missionary on the field, you may wonder what is most important when it comes to praying for them. We’ve identified seven specific prayer areas for missionaries that flow from Scripture. And while all prayer is appreciated, the real reasons missionaries are on the field are exemplified in these seven areas of request.
The 7 C’s of Praying for Missionaries
Care
Praying for God’s care and protection of your missionaries is critical, especially as the world continues to destabilise. The Apostle Paul asked others to pray that 1) he and his team would be safe, but if not, 2) that they would have grace to handle the trial and 3) that his suffering or death would bring profit to the gospel and the Kingdom of Christ [2 Thessalonians 3:1-2; 2 Corinthians 1:9-11]. Plan A is to pray for safety, protection, and security; Plan B is praying for grace and profit from adversity.
Contacts
Prayer fuels the evangelistic process where success in each step brings glory to God. From making the initial contact to talking about spiritual things, sharing the gospel and leading someone to saving faith in Christ to discipling the new believer and seeing growth and service! But it must begin with open doors – ask God to open doors and make divine appointments for your missionaries.
Courage
We tend to think of missionaries as courageous. And while it takes a lot of courage to get to the field, missionaries are people with fears, just like the rest of us. They can feel apprehensive about new situations, experience intimidation by opposing parties and get rattled after difficult or life-threatening incidents. As humans, we flee from fear. So missionaries need God’s people to pray that they will gain courage specifically through the filling of the Spirit (Acts 4:29-31), affirmations from believers (Acts 11:23), fruit-bearing ministry (Colossians 1:6-9), and inspiration from others’ boldness (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7.) To encourage means “to pour courage into,” so pour courage into your missionaries through prayer!
Clarity
Communicating with clarity and understanding can be challenging, even in our own native language. Now imagine learning an entirely new language and culture – with all its idioms and subtleties – and then clearly preaching and teaching Christ and the Gospel. The Apostle Paul asked the believers in Colossi to pray that he would make clear the mystery of Christ (Colossians 4:3-4), making war on confusion and appealing to the Lord for results. Pray that your missionaries will present the gospel faithfully and creatively, and for hearts and minds to be opened to receiving it.
Conversions
Believers praying for the first 4 C’s for their missionaries are asking God to connect His gospel with those who haven’t heard. Now, we ask for conversions – fruit for the work. Pray for individuals to come to know Christ, but also pray that “…the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified…” (2 Thessalonians 3:1) so that the gospel spreads quickly and efficiently, covering the land. Pray for soft, open and receptive hearts.
Christlikeness
Good and fruitful action follows the one whose heart is fully yielded to loving and following Christ. You may think of missionaries as being “godly,” and yet they are susceptible to the same sins of the flesh we all are! Pray for your missionaries to be Christlike: loving the Father supremely, loving sinners and the poor, living out a God-transformed life, filled with the Spirit, persevering against enemy enticements, dying daily to the flesh and its selfish ambition, advocating for heaven’s culture, and living blameless lives. Pray they will respond Christlike to the difficulties they face on the field.
Co-workers
Jesus mentioned a key element of prayer in missions–we are specifically to ask God to send more labourers into the harvest (Luke 10:2.) Missionaries that are isolated bear the heavy burden of carrying the whole load on the field. This can eventually lead to high stress levels, burnout and physical and emotional strain. They need help and fellowship from co-workers. Pray that the Lord will send godly and suitable teammates to your missionaries. And for those who have teammates, pray for humility and unity, complementary gift mixes and joyful collaboration.
The Local Church’s Role
The local church’s prayer ministry, through the working of the Holy Spirit, the power of Jesus Christ and to the glory of God the Father, can be a missionary’s most significant source of encouragement and support as they fight the battle on the front lines. And while the church is likely to coordinate the prayer efforts, individuals, families, and small groups provide air cover through their prayers every day.
Biblical Ministries South Africa provides air cover for our missionaries every day and is dedicated to coming alongside the local church to do the same. If you’d like more insight and practical ways to support your missionaries through prayer, we want to help.
Contact us to schedule a free workshop for your church. We’d love to join together with you as we fight the good fight of faith!
1 The Lessons of History (Durant, 2010)
