Part IV - The Priority, The Power, & The Practice of Prayer in Missions

“Since I can’t do anything else, the least I can do is pray.”

Why is it that we believe that intercessory praying is the “least that we can do” rather than holding to the position that intercessory prayer is the “most we can do”?

The foundation and primary task of all mission endeavors begins and ends with prayer. Oswald Chambers aptly stated, “Prayer does not just fit us for a greater work. Prayer is the greater work.” It is through the power of prayer that strongholds are broken, closed doors are opened, and more importantly, lives are changed forever.

A close look at the New Testament reveals that of all the requests the disciples made of Jesus Christ during the three years that He walked and talked with them, it was how to pray that was asked about over and over again. They understood the priority, the power, and the practice of prayer as they moved deeper into the missions and ministry tasks they were commanded to fulfill.

The Priority of Prayer in Missions

The very first recorded prayer in Scripture is found in Genesis 4:26. “Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.” From the beginning of time there has been a desire of man to cry out to his Creator acknowledging his need for help. Prayer has in fact altered the course of history and has brought salvation to countless millions since the beginning of time.

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the One True Living God not only taught us to pray, He modeled for us the habit and practice of prayer. Mark 1:35, 6:41, 46 -- Herbert Lockyer, in his classic work, All The Prayers of the Bible, best describes Jesus’ position on prayer when he states, “Jesus believed prayer to be a working force, a dynamic, rather than a doctrine, in the life of the believer. To Him, prayer was not a sentiment or theory or presumption to the soul owning its reality. To Christ, prayer persists because of the proof of its efficiency.”

In Luke chapter 10, Jesus is preparing to send out 70, volunteers perhaps, to go ahead of Him and prepare the hearts and souls of men, women, boys, and girls for the coming Messiah, for the message of salvation. It is interesting to note that the first words uttered by our Lord to this group was to pray. What were they to pray for, for more workers. Warren Wiersebe notes, “. . . that it is laborers, not spectators, who pray for more laborers.” Prayer was a priority in the life of our Lord and should be a priority in our lives as well.

The Power of Prayer in Missions

This blog cannot begin to hold the untold tens of thousands of stories of how prayer has made a difference. James, an apostle of Jesus Christ writes, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” James 5:16 The power is not found in our doing, but in our praying. Unfortunately, this is a biblical concept that seems foreign to the Western mindset. How many times have you heard it said, “I can’t do anything else so I guess the least I can do is pray”. How sad it is when we place the most powerful weapon known to heaven and earth in the category of the “least” we can do.

Faithful Praying has resulted in:

Delayed God’s judgment
Brought fire down from heaven
Stopped the rain and then restarted the rain
Prepared hearts for the coming of the Holy Spirit
Healed the sick
Raised the dead
Gave boldness to the timid and strength to the weak
Brought comfort, peace, joy, longsuffering
And the list could go on and on. But the greatest result of prayer is the impact it can have on bringing those who have yet to believe into a saving faith with Jesus Christ.

The Practice of Prayer

Missionaries around the world know that there are very specific and strategic ways in which Christians can pray that will indeed impact their work. Here are but a few examples.

1. Pray for the lost peoples of the world by people group name
2. Pray for lost individuals named by missionaries
3. Pray using the apostle Paul’s Prayer Strategy:
Colossians 4:3; Ephesians 6:19; 2 Thessalonians 1-2
4. Pray for missionaries by name
5. Pray for national Christian partners by name
6. Pray “onsite with insight” by Prayer Walking
7. Pray for new believers
8. Pray for new believers to be baptized
9. Pray that new believers will be gathered into new churches
10. Pray for the spiritual growth and training of new believers as leaders.

Our problem is that we spend more time talking about praying than actually praying.

According to the A.C. Neison Co. the average American spends 4 hours a day watching TV
The average US protestant pastor prays on average 39 minutes per day
The average missionary prays on average . . . .

Le't pray about this!