Breathe new life into your prayer life…
Does this prayer sound familiar? “God bless all the
missionaries. Give them wisdom to do your work.
Protect them and keep them well.”
Maybe you too have struggled with how to pray for missionaries and unfamiliar people groups in far away places. We’d all agree that prayer is essential to missions and that every Christian is called to Great Commission praying. Then why do we struggle to press on in prayer?
Maybe we don’t know what to pray about or how. Here are some ideas, not a formula, for more effective Kingdom-building praying. Use these guidelines to fuel your prayers for missionaries you already know or people groups you learn about.
Pray boldly and pray often!
Open Doors: 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. 
Understanding: Pray that God would enable
missionaries to learn new languages and customs so
they can reach people at a heart level. Ask for
teachable, humble hearts that are yielded to the Lord.
Changed Hearts: Pray for hearts to be softened and
ready to receive the message of the Gospel. Pray
that national believers would be rooted and established
in love, and that they would grow in the knowledge of
God’s word and boldly share it with others.
Healthy Churches: Pray for the establishment of
God’s kingdom as churches grow and multiply in the
least reached places. Pray for unity among believers
so that churches would work together to impact their
communities and the world.
Safety and Family: Pray for good health and safety
for missionaries, many of whom work in remote places
far from medical care. Intercede for missionary
children and the added stresses that face families
living cross-culturally.
Perseverance: Pray for missionaries to persevere with
joy in the work to which the Lord has called them.
Pray against discouragement and the attacks of the
enemy who seeks to destroy.
Wisdom: Pray for wisdom to discern God’s will as
teams set plans and priorities for ministry. Pray for
their faith to grow as they trust God for all things.
Willing Servants: Pray for more co-laborers willing togo and make disciples. The harvest is plentiful, but
the laborers are few!
Intercessory prayer support is one of the key things that believers in local churches can do to support world evangelism.
Seven things all missionaries need…and which people forget to lift them up in prayer over:
1. Victory over mental stagnation.
2. Freshness in prayer and in Bible teaching.
3. Guidance in how to present the Gospel.
4. Deliverance from the temptation to pride.
5. Wisdom in relationships with other missionaries.
6. Strength to overcome temptations brought on by
loneliness.
7. A saving sense of humor.
From A Missionary: Specifics To Pray For:
When traveling:
That missionaries will pass effortlessly through customs and immigration lines.
That the planes on which missionaries travel will not encounter mechanical problems or trouble from terrorists.
That our missionaries will make all their connections.
Health and safety objectives:
Protection for the missionaries from accidents, crime, natural disasters, terrorists, and dangerous animals.
Protection for the missionaries from sickness.
That missionaries will find time for proper sleep, rest, and exercise.
That missionaries’ food and water needs will be met.
Spiritual watchcare objectives:
Times of intimacy for missionaries with Jesus in Bible study, prayer and worship.
Shielding for the missionaries from dark forces in spiritual realms.
Preservation for missionaries from discouragement, fear, and doubt.
That missionaries will demonstrate purity, humility, boldness, wisdom, patience, love for people, a teachable spirit and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Teamwork objectives:
That teams of missionaries will experience and express unity, love, good communication, patience, and spiritual gifts.
That missionaries will be granted grace for cultural adjustments, dealing with jet lag, being away from family and friends and lack of privacy.
For missionaries to have wisdom to design and implement effective efforts that will make a long-term difference here…and that they will be able to establish and maintain solid friendships with government officials and other leaders in their chosen land.
Verses to read at prayer time:
Exodus 4:12; 33:14 Zechariah 4:6
Psalms 4:8, 19:14, 121:1-8 Acts 1:8, 4:29,30
Isaiah 40:29-31; 55:10-11 Ephesians 3:16-20; 6:10-20
“The true greatness of any church is not how many it seats but how
many it sends” -Unknown
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