We Are Praying

This is the third and final post looking at some responses to our call to missions that we have experienced over the past couple of years. The previous installments consisted of my response to two opinions that have cropped up on multiple occasions, namely: an overstated view of risk, and an overstated view of sacrifice. Both views have been expressed enough times that I felt they warranted a thoughtful rejoinder. Nonetheless, they have been the overall minority expressions. The overwhelming majority have sounded a far more positive note on something that cannot be overstated. Prayer. Without fail, this has not solely been a reflex first response, but a sustained, recurring and intentional response on every occasion of meeting, or emails etc. Let me take a few moments to first of all say, “Thank You!” to all of you who pray for us. As I will layout below, it is so important even to hear those words; “We’re praying for you”. On top of this is the wonderful reality of prayer. Our God hears. And he answers. And we have seen his hand move and provide all manner of good gifts in order to make his name known in South Asia, in response to prayer. So, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Now, not that you need telling if you have prayed, but nonetheless, here are some reasons why missionaries/missionaries-in-preparation need to hear those words.

1. Community

Notice the words I used above. We are praying for you. While the other points below are applicable to an individual or family praying for a missionary, there is something special about having a church pray for you.

When we were heading to Bible college, 4 years before leaving for the field, we decided to send our first newsletter before we left. In it we made clear that we didn’t want to turn up on the field, a few years down the line, and start sending out newsletters to those who had never been part of our journey. We wanted it to be something that the churches in Ireland and the UK were behind and praying for with a long-term interest.

We also only sent it to church leaders. Now we have hundreds of individuals signed up to receive it, and we value each one of them, and try to write personally when we can. But initially we sent it only to one person in each church that we knew. The purpose behind this move was to get whole churches praying. Rather than knowing one person in that church was praying, if one leader shared it with the church, then the intent was that they would pray together for us.

It has been so encouraging when we hear that a prayer meeting at the church included a time of prayer for us, or several people mention that our newsletter was in their church WhatsApp group prompting them to pray. Sometimes it can be a lonely path we are treading. (And sometimes the responses of risk and sacrifice make that even lonelier!) But when this happens it joins us to the Church catholic. It draws us into a sense of deep fellowship with bodies of believers, giving a sense of belonging. And when we visit those churches we find ourselves at home, with many people inquiring with specific questions.

So, if your church prays for missionaries as a gathering, let them know. It is such an encouragement! And if they don’t, then maybe it’s time to begin doing it!

2. Shared Mission

Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, reminds them that:

“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”

– 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

Many different roles, but God working through each. Why does he work through various people rather than an individual? Because it is not their field, nor their building, but God’s.

Sure, it is nice for missionaries when they know you are praying for them. It is encouraging to be remembered, as it is for any Christian. Keep it up! But here’s the thing, mission is hard. One person can’t remove the stones, plough the ground, plant the seed, water it, see it grow, tend to it and harvest the fruit by himself. It takes decades of mission workers yes, but also thousands of people doing various other roles in sending, giving, supporting, and vitally, praying.

Full-time ministry can be a hard, long slog. Its reward is not immediately evident, and sometimes it can feel a bit like ploughing a lonely furrow. And the heaviest burden for the missionary is not the culture or family issues or practical problems… it is the work itself. It is the churches under their care, the friends that are not yet believers, the brothers and sisters who have turned their back on the faith. This is the thing that is dearest to their hearts, as Paul mentions to the Corinthians when he says:

“ And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.”

– 2 Corinthians 11:28

But when people are actively praying, not merely for you as a person, but for the ministry that God has called you to, to the work that he is doing, the people that he is passionate about reaching, it is a wonderfully refreshing thing. It reminds us that we don’t carry the burden of care alone. It shows us that people around the world are invested in God’s mission, and therefore there is a strength in the work, as the body of Christ rallies behind it and petitions the Throne of Grace. The burden-sharing of prayer is a great strengthener.

I find it easy to fall into habits of praying about myself in ministry, rather than the ministry itself. I think that I’m not unique in that. I must constrain myself to turn the focus off me, and onto those to whom I minister. To direct my heart towards the cares of God’s heart. Maybe you can identify with this too. Let us all strive to direct our gaze and hearts to the fields for harvest, and to the Lord of the harvest, that we might join in prayer for his work as well as for the individuals involved. In this way we can share the burden of his heart together.

3. Answers to prayer

We are weak. As Jesus reminds us in John 15, without him we can do nothing. And as we have ministered in Ireland, and prepared to go overseas, our weakness comes ever to the fore. But Jesus also says this in John 15:

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

There is nothing that he is not willing to give in answer to the requests of his people as they live out obedient lives while abiding in him.

As God’s people have prayed for us, we have seen so many answers, that have convinced us of God’s hand in this venture and confirmed our calling. We are helpless without the working of God. And he is pleased to act to behalf of his people, in response to prayer. I trust that all of us have seen this in our lives, it is nothing new! But let this be a reminder that God really does answer prayer. And without that his mission will never advance.

It is hard for us Westerners to avoid pragmatism. To try hard, organise schedules, put plans in place etc., in order to succeed. But the work that God requires us to put into his plans is prayer. The New Testament church was in prayer before the giving of the Holy Spirit. They were in prayer before they started their mission. They were in prayer as they started their mission, and they continued in prayer throughout the book of Acts as they went into all the world. Their mission was birthed, continued and sustained by prayer, and it is no different for us.

As people have prayed for us, and we have seen the answers, we are reminded again and again of God’s means of carrying out his work. It happens when the worldwide community of believers, individually and corporately, share the burden of God’s heart, and approach the Throne of Grace to petition the Lord to move in a particular area.

Thank you for praying for us, and for God’s work, and thank you for telling us that you are. We are glad that we share the burden of God’s work with you. May we ever remain on our knees.