Prayer for a missionary is the bedrock for the work of missions. Prayer is a very important tool to conquer and open doors for the souls of men under the oppression of the devil. Prayer support for missionaries is very important for the success of the work of missions. (Romans 15:30–32).
Praying for missionaries touches every aspect of the missionary’s life. This includes praying for them to overcome cultural shock on their first visit to the field, praying for divine utterance and boldness (Ephesians 6:19–20; Colossians 4:3), and praying for their immediate family members—the wife and the children. On the field, missionaries face all kinds of attacks, so they need constant prayer support to build up their spiritual life, intimacy with the Lord, and courage to obey every instruction by God, even when such instructions may not be palatable (2 Thessalonians 3:1–2).
Verse 2: “And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for all men have not faith.”
Prayer is a catalyst for effective mission work: To believers, gospel prayer is a command and an essential aspect of our relationship with God. God is sovereign; He does what He pleases—how, when, and where it pleases Him. He knows all things. He is omniscient and omnipotent, meaning He has infinite power and the ability to do anything.
Nevertheless, God expects us to pray before He acts (Matthew 7:7). This He has chosen by His sovereignty. By implication, whatever men do not pray for, God may not do (John 16:24). This is a sober truth. Even when prayers are offered to Him, He still has the right to answer or not (James 4:2).
Then what kind of prayer commands heaven’s attention? The prayer from men and women with right standing before God, praying according to God’s will. One important will of God is that no man or nation should perish. In Matthew 6:10, the Bible says, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This tells us that the utmost importance in the heart of God is that all men—regardless of tribe, colour, or tongue—should follow His will as it is done in heaven. This means they must be saved, which is the foundation of following God.
As prayer is important to saving souls, so also it is important for the missionaries who work in these localities, which could be referred to as dens of lions.
It will be a new dawn if we see our churches declaring days of fasting and prayer for the salvation of men, mission work, and missionaries in various fields all over the world. Praying for missions is one of the least expensive projects a group of church can embark upon. It does not require money or elaborate planning; neither does it take a committee or glossy flyers.
As a matter of fact, prayer precedes missionary work; so if we stop praying, we have automatically stopped missionary work.
Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision and a passionate man of prayer, prayed like this:
“O loving God, break my heart with the things that break the heart of Jesus.”
