The A to Z of Praying for Missionaries - Part 1

Sometimes when I can't sleep I will pray through the alphabet. I will begin with A and see how far I set before I fall asleep. I have various themes that I follow. I thought I should share with you the theme of praying for missionaries. This is part one.

One of my favourite quotes about missions and prayer is from James Fraser, a missionary to the Lisu people of southwest China.

"I will not labor the point. You will see from what I am saying that I am not asking you just to give 'help' in prayer as a sort of sideline, but I am trying to roll the main responsibility of this prayer warfare on you. I want you to take the burden of these people upon your shoulders. I want you to wrestle with God for them."

Do we have that kind of thoughts when we are praying for missions?

The A to Z praying for missionaries will help you to focus your prayers.

A is for attitudes - Attitudes impact so much of life. It impacts how we look at things, how we respond. Pray that attitudes will be Christ-like.

B is for balance - Pray that each one will live with balance in their lives. The ministry can be unending, there is always one more person you could meet with or another Bible study to write but  yet we need to have balance.

C is for children - It can be children living with them or children away from home. Pray for the children that they will love and serve God. Pray that they will feel called by God to be part of the ministry.

D is for discernment - So many decisions need to be made and discernment is required. Listening to God's voice and knowing what he wants us to do each day.

E is for encouragement - Pray that the missionaries will be encouraged. If it is times of not much fruit, it can be discouraging. The missionary might even wonder if it is worth being there. Pray that they will be encouraged to continue on in the work that God has called them to do.

F is for faith for finances - (I know that is a double letter.) Many missionaries are faith based meaning that they rely on giving from churches and individuals. Pray that they will have faith to trust God for finances.

G is for grace - Missionaries need grace. We need to understand anew the grace that God gives us. We need to know the depth of grace that God gives us. We need to be able to give grace to those around us.

My desire is that this will help you to focus your prayers.

Part 2 is here.
Part 3 is here.

Beth