How to Pray for MissionariesExemplo

PRAYER THAT BRINGS HOPE (Phil 1:19-21) 

Stuart and Margaret Robinson were serving in Asia in a tough environment, when civil war broke out. As a result, they were forced to leave their home and join millions of others in seeking safety. They could only take with them their infant daughter and the things they could carry or squeeze into the baby’s pram—which, to make things worse, had just lost a wheel. Half dragging the pram, for days they trudged over broken terrain seeking refuge, food and safety. 

During that long, desperate walk, they often cried out to God for his protection and care. And they often yearned for reassurance that people at home in Australia were praying for them. 

 What overseas workers need at a time like that is one simple thing: hope. 

When Paul wrote to the Philippian believers, he thanked God for their partnership in the gospel. Even more, they were ‘partners of grace’ with him in his imprisonment and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel (Phil 1:5-7). Above all, those prayers, through the power of the Spirit of Jesus, gave him eager expectation and hope (Phil 1:19-20).

• Hope of deliverance. That one way or the other, in this life or the next, the ultimate outcome will be good. 

• Hope of being unashamed. That even in apparent failure or breakdown, they will hold their heads high.

• Hope of being courageous. To have the boldness to press on regardless of circumstances.

• Hope that Christ will be honoured in everything that happens.

• Hope that in either life or death, the outcome is always the best it could possibly be. To live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:21).

• Hope of abounding joy and rejoicing (Phil 1:26).

One further word. The privilege of praying always brings with it responsibility. We might almost say that praying is a dangerous thing! For when we pray, it is more than possible that God will require us to be part of the answer. 

In the case of the Philippians, they not only prayed; they gave. So Paul thanks them for ‘sharing in his affliction’ (Phil 4:14) by sending him regular gifts to meet his various needs, which he calls ‘an acceptable and pleasing sacrifice to God’ (Phil 4:18). 

A couple of years ago, my wife Vanessa, a great-grandmother, was praying about how she could help Osei, a young protégé of ours, now a school teacher in an African nation. Within a year she had organised and sent a whole container of school furnishings to that country! When even impossible things are conceived in prayer, they become possible.  

It is an old-established biblical truth that words without deeds are meaningless (James 2:15-16). This applies to words uttered in prayer as much as to any other. 

What next?

Think about prayers you have been offering for your brothers and sisters in mission. What else could you do for them? Be informed. Make enquiries. Pray about the possibilities. Be willing to step out in faith.