Why Missionaries Need Your Prayer
Jesus taught us to ask for things. He modeled prayer. He trained the disciples in prayer. He had the expectation that we would pray. The reason is that God moves in response to our prayers. In contrast, if we are honest, prayerlessness is sin.
Praying for missionaries both advances the gospel and fulfills the command of Philippians 2:4 that each of us should not only be concerned about our needs, but also to the interests of others.
James O. Fraser, an early missionary to China once said, “I believe it will only be known on the last day how much has been accomplished in overseas missions by the prayers of earnest believers at home.”
Some reasons to pray:
- Being a missionary is hard work
- Missionaries face special challenges with travel, health, loneliness and frustrations
- Missionaries are targets for spiritual opposition
- Missionaries covet your prayers (as Paul did five times in his letters)
How to Pray for Missionaries
Explore these articles with recommendations about how to specifically pray for missionaries:
- Prayer Will Win the Nations – Desiring God
- How to Pray for Missions – Bethany Global University
- 16 Ways to Pray for Missionaries – David Platt
- How to Pray for Missionaries – Wycliffe Bible Translators
“Prayer needs no passport, visa or work permit. There is no such thing as a ‘closed country’ as far as prayer is concerned … much of the history of mission could be written in terms of God moving in response to persistent prayer.” ~ Stephan Gaukroger, British philosopher and historian