BlogSwap 3 - Open Assignment

This week’s BlogSwap entry is provided by Joe Missionary and is on the subject of How To Pray For Missionaries. Take it away Joe…

Brothers, pray for us (1 Thes 5:25).

Before Jane and I left the States, we of course spoke before a lot of groups. A common question was, “How can we pray for you guys?” From that, I was motivated to do a little study on how Paul requested prayer, and for what. Below you’ll see every prayer request of Paul (I’m pretty sure), which I have grouped into three general prayer requests. So if you know missionaries but don’t quite know how to pray for them, what better place to start than from the Bible?

1. Pray for boldness (Eph 6:19-20; Col 4:3-4). Paul wanted people to pray that he would clearly and fearlessly preach the Good News. In both verses mentioned here, he reminded his readers of the chains that bound him as a result of his preaching, so he asked that people would pray that he would have the opportunity to preach, and that he wouldn’t miss the opportunities when they arose.
2. Pray for deliverance:
   • from persecution (Rom 15:30-32; 2 Cor 1:8-11; 2 Thes 3:2). In light of the constant harrassment and persecution Paul was receiving, Paul asked the believers to join him in his struggle by praying for him. He was dealing with life-and-death stuff, here, so he asked to be “rescued” and “delivered.”
   • from prison (Phil 1:18b-19; Philemon 22). Paul trusted that the prayers made on his behalf will lead to his being released from prison.
3. Pray for the spread of the gospel (2 Thes 3:1). Paul’s desire was that the gospel would spread rapidly and that it would be honored. You could also add Col 4:3 here, where Paul asked that people pray for open doors.

I hope this short message is helpful to you, as you pray for your brothers and sisters serving God overseas.

You can visit Joe Missionary’s site at joemissionary.blogspot.com.

My entry will be posted at danny.brendoman.com.