Daily Reading: Hebrews 13:18–21
Pray for us. (Heb. 13:18)
When I was a missionary, I had many opportunities to speak in different churches while doing home ministries. At one church, someone asked, “What is the most important thing you need as a missionary?”
This question caused me to think. Was money the most important thing we needed? Was purchasing a mission vehicle to travel from one ministry center to another the most important thing? Was obtaining a high-tech computer the most important thing?
What was my conclusion? All of these things may help to lighten the load of ministry, but they are definitely not the most important needs. Missionaries need the prayers of the saints. Money, a car, or a computer cannot bring conviction upon the hearts of the lost. Neither can they speak deeply into the hearts of national believers concerning their need to pursue God’s holiness and be entirely sanctified. Ministry miracles don’t happen as a result of “things.”
Missionaries have successfully served God without a lot of money, without a car to travel around in, or even without a computer. However, I have never seen successful ministry on the mission field taking place without the prayers of believers lifting missionaries to the throne of God. That is why so many missionaries say, “The most important thing you can do for us is to pray for us.”
Get acquainted with some missionaries, learn their prayer requests, and pray for them.
Jim “Umfundisi” Lo is the author of Connect with God: The Purpose of Prayer(WPH) and the dean of chapel at Indiana Wesleyan University.
