How to Pray for Missionaries預覽

PERSEVERE IN PRAYER (Luke 18:1)

Prayer needs to be persistent. A casual word here and there is not enough. 

Jesus put it as plainly as possible: ‘We should always pray and never give up’ (Luke 18:1). The word ‘always’ literally means ‘at every opportunity’. The verb translated ‘give up’ is actually derived from the word for ‘evil’. It originally meant to do wrong and later came to mean to act in weakness or to fail.   

To the Thessalonians, Paul wrote that they should pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17). Here the last two words occur in other ancient writings to describe regular and systematic actions like paying taxes or going to work every day or even enduring a bout of coughing!

Elsewhere Paul urges us to be ‘constant’ in prayer (Rom 12:10)—in other words, to persevere or persist without fluctuating. 

To the Ephesians he writes: ‘Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…’ (Eph 6:18). Note his terminology:

• At all times = at every season or opportunity 

• Keep alert = to be sleepless, even insomniatic, to keep awake, to be watchful

• Perseverance = bearing with fortitude, patient endurance 

The meaning is clear. Such prayer is not just throwing up an occasional request to God. It is taking the matter seriously and sticking with it, regardless. Further, Paul describes his own praying for the Colossian Christians as being a struggle (Col 2:1) and describes Epaphras, who was one of them, as ‘always wrestling’ on their behalf in his prayers (Col 4:12). 

In the same way, Paul asks the Romans to join him in his struggle by praying for him (Rom 15:30). It is the kind of expression that might have been used to describe an athlete struggling to win a crown as in Olympic Games. It speaks of zeal and intensity. It is a mouthful—sunagonidzomai—but it is not as forbidding as it looks.  Sun means ‘together’ and the first part of agonidzomai is obviously the origin of our English word ‘agonise’. It simply means to struggle or wrestle together in prayer. ‘Agonise’ may be a bit strong, but it certainly rules out half-heartedness. 

Missionary statesman Stuart Robinson writes, ‘A vital element in prayer is persistence. We need to commit, not just to commence but also to continue.’ 

So there we have it. Someone once said that growing old is not for the faint-hearted. Neither, we may say, is praying. It takes godly discipline, particularly when we are praying for missionaries.

What next?

• Memorise Luke 18:1 and 1 Thess 5:17. Learn the references as well.

• What do you think Paul means by ‘all prayer’? (Eph 6:18).