This is a lightly edited transcript of what I actually said when I delivered this message at Calvary Baptist Church in Findlay, Ohio, in 2003, as part of our mission team’s ministry. It differs from what I planned to say; for the prepared text and audio, see the Messages page.
This morning I asked what missions is all about, and we looked at the first way we fulfill the Great Commission—the preaching and proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I said, secondly, that world evangelism is also accomplished through the prayers of God’s people. Those are the two primary ways we reach people and see them saved: proclaiming the gospel, and prayer. So tonight I’d like to turn our attention to the role of prayer in missions.
Many people feel they can’t have a significant part in world evangelism—“that’s for the spiritual Christians, the ones who go to Bible college, get a degree, and head to a foreign field; it’s not really my job.” That comes from a couple of misconceptions. The first is about location: that missions is almost exclusively a foreign thing—that you have to leave the country to be doing it. But missions is simply proclaiming the gospel so that people are saved, become part of the church, grow, and themselves become disciples who proclaim it—and that can happen here in Findlay just as much as across the sea in Poland or Latvia. There is something special about foreign missions—we see in Paul a desire to go where the gospel has not yet been heard, to preach Christ where he is not yet named—but foreign missions is not all there is. Missions is giving out the gospel wherever you are.
The second misconception is that missions is almost exclusively about preaching—you go, you take the gospel, you hand someone a tract and tell them how to be saved. But that’s only half of it. As I studied Paul’s letters, I was struck by how often he said, over and over, “Pray for me.” Paul viewed the prayers of the churches supporting him as absolutely essential to his work—“pray for me, because apart from your prayers I will fail.” So I’d challenge and encourage you: you can play a vital role in what we’re about to do over these eight weeks through your prayer support. Just as important as our going to preach the gospel is your taking five minutes a day to ask the Lord to empower us, bless his Word, save souls, and build his church. This is how God has ordained to accomplish world evangelism—a few go, and the majority stay, pray, and support. (There are other ways to support us too—praise God for the financial support we’ve received, which 3 John 5–8 commends—but tonight I want to focus on prayer.) So let’s look at two simple things: why should we pray for missionaries, and what should we pray?
Why Should We Pray?
Let me submit something that may sound like an overstatement: prayer is necessary for the success of the gospel, and apart from the work of prayer, missions will fail. You may object—isn’t God sovereign? Can’t he overcome the prayerlessness of his people and work in spite of us? Before I answer, let me establish from Scripture the significant role prayer plays. In Romans 15:30–32, Paul gives the church specific prayer requests: “I appeal to you, brothers…to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service…may be acceptable to the saints, so that…I may come to you with joy.” The very fact that Paul asks them to pray implies he believed these things might not happen unless they did—otherwise the request would be pointless. He says, in effect, “Pray for me, because it’s through your prayers that God will accomplish these things.”
This raises a real tension. Scripture also promises that God will build his church and save his people—unconditional promises. How can it be both that God has guaranteed to do certain things and that prayer is necessary for those things? We could veer to one of two extremes: “God is sovereign, so we don’t really need to pray,” or “God can be frustrated—he truly needs our prayers, and without them it won’t happen.” I don’t think it’s either/or. God will accomplish his purposes—he cannot fail or be frustrated—and prayer is a necessary part of bringing them to pass. Notice how Paul juxtaposes these two truths. “He delivered us…and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer” (2 Corinthians 1:9–11)—God will deliver, yet you must pray. “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. Brothers, pray for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:24–25). And, “pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead…and that we may be delivered from…evil men….But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:1–3). Again and again: God will accomplish his purposes, and the prayers of his people are essential to accomplishing them.
How do we harmonize this? Does it limit God, making him dependent on man? No. The God who is determined to accomplish certain things is sovereign over both the end and the means—over both what is accomplished and how. God’s purposes in world evangelism cannot be thwarted, because he is sovereign over the church and over the prayers of the church; he will move his people to pray so that he may answer them and accomplish his purposes. A parallel makes it clear. Scripture teaches that God has chosen a people he will save—“all that the Father gives [the Son] will come”—so we can preach with confidence, knowing people will be saved. Some have twisted that into, “Since they’ll be saved anyway, we needn’t evangelize; let’s just sit back and watch.” But that’s a false conclusion, because Scripture equally teaches that the preaching and believing of the gospel is essential to salvation: “How are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14–15). We harmonize them by seeing that God is sovereign over both the saving of his people and the means—he has determined to save every one of them, and he has determined that the gospel will reach them so they can hear and believe. It’s the same with prayer: God will accomplish his purposes, and he will do so by moving people like you to pray, so that he can answer those prayers. Your prayers are absolutely essential to the fulfillment of God’s purposes—and at the same time God will sovereignly, unfrustratably accomplish them.
Why Has God Ordained It This Way?
Why does God make the success of missions depend on the prayers of his people? Two texts make it clear. In John 15:16 Jesus says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit…so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” Follow the logic: God chose us and sent us out to bear fruit in order that we might ask and he might answer. He wants to display his power—“Go out and just ask me to answer your prayers, and I will”—so that his strength is shown and we rejoice in his answers. That’s the first reason: the glory of his power. The second is the joy and gratitude of his people in answered prayer: “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many” (2 Corinthians 1:11). God has designed that we must pray—so that he can show his power, and so that we can rejoice, praise him, and be thankful for his answers. That is why we must pray: God’s purposes will not be accomplished apart from the prayers of his people.
What Should We Pray?
What, practically, should you pray for us—and for one another and the missionaries we support? There’s no single right answer, but a good place to start is Paul’s own prayer requests. From Romans 15:30–32, three things: that we’d be delivered from unbelievers who would hinder the work; that our service would be acceptable—that our ministry in Poland and Latvia would be received and used by the Lord, uniting us with the people there for effective ministry; and that by God’s will we’d come to you with joy—including safe travel to and from our destinations, and joyful reports of what God has done. From 2 Corinthians 1:8–11, where Paul recalls being “so utterly burdened…that we despaired of life itself” but was taught “to rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead”: pray that God would deliver us from peril, and that many would give thanks for what he accomplishes through your prayers. From Ephesians 6:18–20: pray “that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel”—pray for words, boldness, and opportunities as we testify and preach.
From Philippians 1:18–20—“through your prayers…this will turn out for my deliverance…that…Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death”—a prayer I hope you won’t need to pray for us; but if we ever end up in prison, this is how to pray: that we’d be delivered, that it would advance the gospel, and that God would be honored, whether through life or death. From Colossians 4:2–4: “pray for us, that God may open to us a door for the word”—pray that God would open doors of opportunity (Mike Peterson in Poland hopes we’ll do many open-air services—singing, preaching, and testifying out where people gather at the bus stops—so pray for opportunities to give out the gospel). First Thessalonians 5:25 is a simple, general “pray for us.” From 2 Thessalonians 3:1–5: pray “that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored”—that God’s Word would overcome all resistance and conquer hearts for his glory. From 1 Timothy 2:1–4: pray for those in authority—“that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life”—that is, that the governments over there would not persecute or hinder us from proclaiming the gospel, since God “desires all people to be saved.” And from Hebrews 13:18–19: “pray for us…that I may be restored to you the sooner”—pray for our safety, that God would accomplish his purposes there, and bring us back with joyful reports.
So, why should we pray? Because God has ordained to accomplish his purposes in world evangelism through the prayers of his people—purposes certain and unfrustratable, yet not accomplished apart from your prayers. And what should we pray? Use Scripture as your pattern, and pray above all that the Word of God would be clearly proclaimed, that we’d have many opportunities, and that it would find good soil in the hearts of many and bring numerous conversions. Let me challenge each of you: take one of the prayer cards from the table, jot some of these requests on the back, ask a team member for a few specifics, and pray for us just a minute or two every day for the next eight weeks. It won’t take much time—it’s simply a matter of believing in the power of prayer and trusting God to do great and mighty things through the prayers of his people. As you pray, you are just as vital a part of this work of missions—and when we return, you can join us in joy and gratitude for all God has done. Brothers and sisters, let us join together.