Every believer should be praying for missionaries, specific families on the mission field that are leading people to Christ. Missionaries are on the front lines, attacked by the enemy on every side. If missionaries fall, many people fall. If your church does not support missions, encourage them to do so. And if your church sends out missionaries, please be faithful to pray for them.
The prayer letters do not include the real prayer requests, by the way. Those are the prayer requests that will not be judged and taken wrong, like the conversion of specific people, or progress being made for the Lord. The real prayer requests for the personal lives of the missionaries themselves can’t be given to the thousands of people in the churches because by and large, people are shallow. They yank their support if it looks like missionaries are struggling. But let me tell you: all missionaries are struggling. They struggle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of darkness. (Ephesians 6:12) Shallow Christians in the supporting churches reason that if the missionaries are struggling with sin issues and personal things, God can’t possibly be blessing them, so God must not be in it. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Missionaries need prayer about the things that everyone needs prayer for:
- strong marriages
- children who follow the Lord
- ability to resist temptation
- interpersonal relationships with difficult people
- health issues from poor conditions like unsanitary water
- overcoming anger, slander, or any other sin issue that everyone struggles with
Missionaries need prayer about not putting their work for the Lord above their spouse and children. This is very difficult to do. Spiritual work is all-consuming, and pretty soon marriages are distant, or idolatry has grabbed hold of the heart of the husband in the form of TV or any other hobby to escape from the pressures of being in ministry. Usually the idolatry is not a sin in and of itself, but taken in large amounts, a man will neglect his family. Preacher’s kids and missionary’s kids are notoriously rebellious because their parents pour their all into the ministry and not into them.
Please pray for the missionaries that your church supports, and I dare you to take a leap of faith and support a specific missionary family directly. You will find out specific prayer requests from them and be able to pray more effectively because you are personally invested in the work of the missionaries.
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Tags: Growing Up as a Missionary Kid, missionaries, missions, prayer
Over the years I have worked with missionary families who have come home from the mission field and their marriage and family relationships are in shambles because they didn’t make each other a priority. It is sad and they do absolutely need our prayers! Thank you for the reminder! God Bless!
The enemy wants to do anything he can to destroy the ministry. Families on the front lines get attacked spiritually from every angle, and that includes their families.
Excellent points! You’d better believe that there are evil forces fighting against those striving to dedicate their lives to ministry, wherever they are! There is so much power in prayer, and we need to remember that.
Yes, we need to pray for our missionaries. They need it!
Yes! I love this! Praying over our brothers and sisters on the mission field is so important. They do struggle spiritually just like we do.
I’m glad you pray for missionaries!