Moved to Pray

by Travis Helm, Assistant Global Reach Director

I recently took a perspectives class through Zoom during the pandemic. Most of the weekly speakers/instructors were seasoned missionaries that spent years serving or still actively served in countries which are hostile towards the gospel. The bulk of the people in those countries have yet to hear about Jesus. A common theme that resonated with these missionaries was that prayer is the pivotal tool in reaching these people and sustaining their ministries. These missionaries coveted intentional, consistent, and fervent prayer of believers and supporters as the most valued treasure on their behalf. As we try to reimagine Missions with the uncertainty of our future, one main constant that cannot be shut down is prayer.

We may not be able to travel as teams to certain countries and we may not have much access to meet in groups because of lock downs or safety issues, but we are always able to pray. I’ve often asked myself why it seems so difficult to make something like prayer a priority and commit time to it. It is something every believer can do regardless of age, abilities, talents, or education, and yet it seems as though prayer takes a back seat to most other activities in our lives. Some reasons why our prayer life for Missions may be anemic is because we simply don’t plan regular times to do it. I also think that some people don’t believe their prayers will make a difference in these mission fields or they just don’t know what specific needs exist in those fields.

As I’ve traveled throughout the various regions the past several years, many mission leaders have expressed their concerns about diminishing engagement in global missions. They shared their burdens for a lack of new leaders and mission mobilizers. As I have listened, thought, and prayed, I continually come back to the foundation of prayer. If we look at the life of Christ, his journey was bathed in times of prayer both privately and with small groups like his disciples. He has modeled the example and in Matthew 9:38 instructs us to pray for workers due to the ripe harvest of souls around us. I know that there is always a remnant of believers and churches that are taking this to heart and are fervently seeking the Lord to move on behalf of a lost world. What about the rest of us? How can we be moved enough in our hearts to see and feel what Christ does when he sees a lost sheep? I think it begins with prayer. “Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” James 5:16, NIV.

Many of the champions of faith described in Hebrews chapter 11 left this earth without seeing certain prayers answered. Verse 13 says, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.” We don’t have all knowledge about how God may be working in response to our prayers, but can we follow their example and remain faithful in praying?

Psalm 116:2 says the Lord “bends down to listen” when we pray. Ezekiel 22:30 says the Lord is “searching for someone to stand in the gap.” He is bending down to listen. Are you willing and available to Stand in the Gap and cry out to Him for those that need Him? I hope the following article is an encouragement to you as a simple way to be intentional about praying for our mission fields in your church or small group setting. One of our dear sisters in the Allegheny region felt convicted to organize a regular prayer time and I asked her to share the story (see p. 4). May we all be moved to spend precious time crying out for the lost in our mission fields. I believe it will make a difference for eternity.