How to Pray for MissionariesSample

PRAY IN THE SPIRIT (Eph 6:18)

Some years ago, a disgruntled man who had left our congregation repeatedly sent abusive texts both to our board chairman and to me, one of which read, ‘Last night we were praying that you will die soon.’ Another was addressed to my wife and read, ‘Vanessa Chant, what a pity your husband’s treachery will bring curses to your children and children’s children.’ This was certainly not praying in the Spirit!

The fruit of the Spirit

When we pray in the Spirit, we can only pray those things that are consistent with the fruit of the Holy Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23).

Paul urges us to pray in the Spirit for all the saints (Eph 6:18). By expressing it like this, he makes it clear, as he does elsewhere (Phil 1:19), that prayer on its own is powerless. It only works through the presence and power of the Spirit of God. This undoubtedly includes praying for missionaries. 

Furthermore, if we only intercede from a sense of duty without sincere love for them or for the people they serve, it can hardly be described as praying in the Spirit. Nor can we harbour bitterness or jealousy in our hearts or be critical of how they are going about their ministry or pray for them in a perfunctory or indifferent manner and so on. 

In simple terms, praying in the Spirit means praying in the spirit of Christ, with the attitude that he had toward those who hated him even to the point of praying for those who crucified him. Our mindset needs to be the same as his (Phil 2:5). 

Prayer in the Spirit is deeply infused with the passion, love and gentleness of Jesus.

The gifts of the Spirit

Praying in the Spirit also means praying with the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:7-11). 

This means asking God for Spirit-imparted words of wisdom so that we pray for the right things. It may involve words of knowledge and discernment so that, even without being told, we are made aware of particular needs or crises being faced by those for whom we pray. It may include receiving a Spirit-inspired prophetic message of encouragement that we can pass on. This is what these gifts are for (1 Cor 12:7; 14:3). 

The Bible teaches that praying in tongues offers a deeply personal spiritual eloquence involving the human spirit (‘my spirit prays’) made possible by the enabling of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 14:14). This kind of praying goes hand in hand with praying with the understanding (1 Cor 14:15).  In this way, we intercede according to God’s will even though we may not be aware of the actual issues or needs (Rom 8:26-27). So we pray in faith as long as the Holy Spirit urges us to do so. Then when the peace comes, and the ‘burden’ is lifted, we know that the task has been accomplished.  

What next?

• Ask the Holy Spirit to show you further specific areas or ways in which you might pray for your missionaries.

• Continue to work on refining your list of missionaries. You might find yourself now wanting to make lists of their family members or friends as well. Form them into small groups and list them for daily prayer