We Pray Wednesday: How to pray for Foreign Missionaries

Many of us do not realize the struggle that many foreign missionaries face on a daily basis.  Many times we take the philosophy "No news is good news" approach to foreign missions.  They are not super Christians.  They are simply doing the work that God has laid on their hearts.  They face many similar struggles that we face on a daily basis.  They also face things that we will never face.   The apostle Paul was a missionary and a man of prayer. He understood the power of prayer.  He asked fellow Christians to partner in prayer for him.  

Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; — Romans 15:30

Paul knew that their prayers would bring results

Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf. — 2 Corinthians 1:11

In his letters, Paul gave specific prayer requests for which believers should pray. As a prayer partner with those who are called to go, you too will have an impact that can reach around the world. Paul’s prayer requests can serve as a tool for praying with effectiveness and understanding.

1.  Pray for Open Doors

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: — Colossians 4:2–3

Open doors can’t be taken for granted. Many missionaries work in countries that are difficult to access or in areas that are resistant to the gospel. But “open doors” include more than just access to nations and people groups. Individuals’ hearts also need to be open and receptive to God’s truth.

Pray that God will open doors of ministry, blessing partnerships and friendships.

Pray that those who serve will be led by the Holy Spirit and recognize open-door opportunities.

Pray that God will lead His people past barriers to hearts ready to receive His Word.

2.  Pray for Boldness in Witness

And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, — Ephesians 6:19

Missionaries are regular people who fear pain and rejection as much as anyone else. When faced with opposition, they need God’s strength to help them stand firm.

Pray that missionaries will have boldness to overcome the fear of embarrassment or failure.

Pray that the Spirit will provide them with words that communicate effectively in other cultures and languages.

Pray against evil forces that would seek to hinder the spread of the gospel.

3.  Pray that God’s Word Will Spread

Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: — 2 Thessalonians 3:1

Obstacles must be removed to allow God’s Word to spread rapidly and freely. Removing obstacles implies resolute resistance in spiritual warfare. Just as Aaron and Hur supported Moses’ arms in the battle against the Amalekites (Exodus 17:12), you can strengthen the arms of missionaries through your prayers.

Pray for strength and stamina as missionaries encounter antagonistic spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:10–18).

Pray that people will resist Satan’s plans to obstruct the spread of the gospel (James 4:7).

Pray that God’s Word will indeed spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes.

4.  Pray for Protection

And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. — 2 Thessalonians 3:2

In some countries, open doors may expose missionaries to the possibility of danger and personal harm. Opposition to the gospel may include hatred and violence.

Pray that God will keep Christian workers safe from those who seek to hurt them.

Pray that God will change the hearts of those who are resistant to his Word.

5.  Pray for Their Ministry

Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:— 2 Thessalonians 3:1b

Cooperation and partnership are essential to ministry and vital to the progress of the work.

Pray that the missionary’s ministry and attitude will be worthy of acceptance.

Pray that colleagues and fellow believers will be supportive.

6.  Pray for God’s Guidance

For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; — Colossians 1:9

Many missionaries travel frequently, both nationally and internationally. Their mode of transportation varies from country to country and often involves stressful situations.

Pray for clear guidance from God regarding travel decisions.

Pray for necessary permissions to travel.

Pray for protection and provision during their travels.

7.  Pray for Refreshment

Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; — Colossians 1:11

Missionaries deal with many of the same stresses you face in life such as overwhelming workloads, relational conflicts and financial uncertainties. Often, however, missionaries struggle with these issues alone, without the fellowship and support of other Christians. Living and working cross-culturally adds an additional element that can challenge their emotional, spiritual and physical vitality.

Pray that God will provide opportunities for missionaries in lonely areas to spend time with other believers.

Pray that God will provide times of peace and relaxation to refresh His workers.

Pray that God will encourage missionaries with the knowledge that people back home care about their emotional well-being.

Teen Tuesday: Does God care what we wear?

·     

As a youth pastor I am often asked about dress standards—from teens, from parents, and from other youth leaders. Do we have a dress standard? What is it? How do we enforce it? Why do we have one? What about visitors? The questions and the reasoning sometimes seem endless, and can actually be seriously distracting from the central point of student ministry. To get straight to the point, this is a real issue in youth ministry in the twenty-first century and many are looking for balanced biblical answers.

As culture continually slips into sloppier and sleazier, many churches and families have all but given up this battle. Many are opting for the “well, God loves us no matter how we dress” approach to Christianity. And of course He does! No one argues that point. But God loves me regardless of how I live too! That’s just not a valid argument when considering “what to wear.” God’s love or acceptance isn’t the issue—pleasing Him and representing Him well are the issues.

In the next couple of articles I would like to explore the subject of dress from a student ministry perspective. If you are a parent, these articles will encourage you to consider biblical principles for your children and your own home. If you are a youth leader or pastor, this article will challenge you to reasonably define and compassionately lead your group environment to be honoring to the Lord. Either way, I hope we all decide to “raise the bar” for some very good, biblical reasons. I believe the Bible is very clear—YES—God does care what we wear.

In Matthew 11:7–9 Jesus is speaking about John the Baptist. And while the central context of this passage is not about clothing, He draws a clear distinction between what a godly man wears and what would be worn in a pagan environment. (The term soft clothing in this passage refers to common homosexual practices of the day.) The Bible draws the same conclusion in Proverbs 7:10 where it says, “…the attire of an harlot.” Point being—different types of people dress differently and clothing certainly identifies us with a lifestyle. To put one point of these verses in plain English: godly men don’t dress the same as effeminate men, and godly ladies don’t dress like harlots.

Would you consider with me your dress choices? Would you consider what you allow your teenager to wear in a variety of contexts, and would you let those decisions be subject to God’s will? If so, then I pray that these following considerations will challenge your thinking and provoke serious consideration of this matter. I recently gave our students and parents ten reasons why we have a student ministry dress standard, and why I have a dress standard for my family. Let me share three of them with you now and the rest over the next couple of articles.

1. To please the Lord Jesus Christ and honor Him above all. So many of our dress decisions are purely based on pleasing self and pleasing others. When you wake up and get dressed, for whom are you dressing? First Corinthians 10:31 teaches, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

2. To submit to the biblical principle of modesty. This is more of an issue with ladies because men are “sight oriented.” If you have a home with only girls, you may not really get this! What some ladies or moms think is “cute” is very often provocative.  Dad must be the authority in this area and moms should work to educate themselves on what their daughters “look like” through the eyes of young men. First Timothy 2:9 teaches, “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel…”.

3. To submit to the biblical principle of appropriateness and to identify with godliness. Philippians 4:5 teaches, “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” The definition of moderation is appropriateness. While young men might not have to struggle so much with modesty, they certainly should be taught what is appropriate dress for various environments.

It seems our young people are being taught that wearing their “ball-game” clothing to church is appropriate. It simply isn’t. When it comes to dress, we should have a higher respect for spiritual environments than we do for mowing the lawn. It’s the same reason we dress better for weddings and funerals—because we respect the people and the environment involved. Why should the Lord get less respect than the dead?

We’ve just barely scratched the surface of this topic. I pray that you will take these first three points and teach them to your teenagers, your children, or your youth group. Teens want to know “why.” They won’t always understand all of our rules, but this is one area where they are more than capable of connecting the dots—if we present them reasonably and biblically. Everybody knows that dress matters. It’s really just a matter of submitting our selfish wills to God and living to please Him first. Thanks for reading. We will continue the discussion in the next article!

    BY CARY SCHMIDT – used with permission

Monday's Message: Knowledge

Today’s message will be on the second descriptor in 2 Corinthians 6:4 By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,

Knowledge is a vast subject in the Scriptures and we will only be able to skim the surface of what God has to say about knowledge. What is it? Where does it come from? How do we get it? These are a few of the questions we will touch on today concerning knowledge.

I think the best place to start when discussing knowledge is at the beginning; Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

We see here in this very famous verse of scripture that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. What does that mean? Well, I believe that God is telling us that we must build all our knowledge and understanding on a Christian worldview. We must start our studies, investigations and inquiries with the understanding that everything in this world, including ourselves is created by God.

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

This has many implications and will affect our interpretation of certain evidences and facts that we are presented with in life. One implication of beginning with the understanding that Jesus Christ is the Creator of all things is that we will find order, design, and meaning in the creation of God. This is, of course, exactly what we find when we observe God’s creation, but if we don’t begin with the recognition of the God of the Bible as Creator and sustainer we will end up with false beliefs about where these creations come from, how they came to be and most importantly, why they are here at all. This does not mean that unbelievers can’t know anything, it means that all their knowledge is based on a foundation of falsehood.

The Apostle Paul said of Jesus Christ, In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge(Colossians 2:3). All knowledge and wisdom comes from God and if we want to receive understanding, we must look to Jesus Christ and His words to find it. The Bible says that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all(1 John 1:5). Jesus also told us that God’s Word is truth, John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. We must always begin with foundation of our faith, that God’s Word is true and we must compareall our beliefs with what He has taught us in His Word.

Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

God does want us, as Christians, to get knowledge and wisdom and understanding. Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.We should daily be reading the Word of God and praying for wisdom and studying to show ourselves approved unto God (2Timothy 2:15). The Bible says in Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.There is certainly a lack of knowledge of the Bible among God’s people today, and we being destroyed because of it. Peter concludes his second epistle with this admonition:But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.2 Peter 3:18

So we can see that it is very important to God that we have knowledge; however, God also warns us of the trap of getting proud of our knowledge and the dangerous effects of being built up in self pride. We must always accompany our knowledge with a humble and contrite spirit, realizing that all our knowledge comes from God and that we are still sinners and that but for the grace of Almighty God we would be living in ignorance and deception to this day.

1 Corinthians 8:1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledgepuffeth up, but charity edifieth.

2 And if any man think that he knowethany thing, he knowethnothing yet as he ought to know.

1 Corinthians 13:2  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

So, let us go forward learning and studying God’s Word, praying for wisdom and applying our understanding to glorify God and to lead others to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and always remember to do so with charity and compassion and a correct understanding of who we truly are and who God is.

Ephesians 3:19  And to know the love of Christ, which passethknowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.