Prayer Focus: Missions & Missionaries


Dearest Heavenly Father, we come before You on behalf of the great missionary task that You have ordained. We give you thanks that You are in the midst of this world-wide effort to bring the light of the Gospel to the nations. We marvel that You became the model cross-cultural missionary when Jesus took on flesh and dwelt among us.

Be close this day with all who have left hearth and home to go to the lost. Give them Your safety and Your presence as they take Your light into the darkness. Protect them from those who would seek to harm them. Give them fluency in the languages that they are learning and understanding of the cultures in which You have placed them. Protect those family members whom they have left at home. Give their children the courage to face new challenges. Keep them healthy when faced with medical challenges not often seen at home. Give them protection while traveling in difficult places and in various conveyances.

Allow them to properly contextualize the Gospel without changing the Gospel message. Give them boldness to confront sin and to see their own sins and repent of them. Let Your Holy Spirit go before them to prepare hearts to receive the truth of Your Word. Let them walk in Your Spirit, and keep them free of the lusts of the flesh. Sustain them even during the dry times when there appears to be little or no fruit.

Even if their normal task is not that of an evangelist, let them see that evangelism is their chief task, and that it does no good to bring people clean water without also giving them the Living Water. Let them preach the Gospel with their words in addition to their good works. Give them wisdom as to how best to minister to both physical and spiritual needs.

Bless the work of Bible translation. Let there soon come a time when every person will be able to read Your Word in their heart language. Let Your Word go out into every corner of this planet unhindered, and allow it to do its work in bringing conviction or sin and showing the need for the Savior.

Provide the support that is needed through the gifts of Your people. Let us be willing to give of our treasure that Your kingdom might be advanced. Let us see the wisdom of investing in the eternal Kingdom. Allow those who administer these funds to be wise in their application. Do not allow any waste to occur that would hinder this mission.

Allow those of us who have not been sent to foreign lands to see that we are also missionaries in the places in which You have ordained. Allow us to be bold in proclaiming the Gospel, even if it is only across the back fence and not across the seas. Allow us to see that often the nations come to us, and let us be willing to entertain the strangers in our midst for Your glory.

Let us recognize that we lose nothing by following Your will, and that to deny Your will is to deny ourselves of the joy of being close to You. Show us that our greatest privilege is to know Christ Jesus, and our greatest prize is His presence. Show us that we have the great joy of participating in the building of Your church, a task that will never fail. Give us the joy of knowing that we too will join the great multitude of all those from every nation, tribe, and tongue who will worship You at Your throne.

Until that day, allow us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Root out from us every sin that hinders our walk with You. Allow us to worship You in Spirit and in truth. Let us give all praise, and thanksgiving, and honor, and glory to Christ Jesus alone. It is in His Holy name that we pray. Amen