Being a missionary in Zambia, Africa, I have had many people ask over and over again how they can pray for our family. While we appreciate our friends and family asking, some other people wait until they have specific requests to start praying. Well, today I will help my fellow missionaries by giving you a list of prayer items that all missionaries would love for you to pray for. Blessing your Missionaries through prayer is one of the most productive things that you can do for them. We know our struggle is spiritual. Praying for our missionaries will bring their spiritual battles to the throne of God, and it will also help your family to understand the lives of missionaries more clearly.
What should we pray for? Here are seven prayer requests (from my experience) which would bless your missionaries.
1. Pray for Open Doors for the Gospel
The whole reason your missionary friends have left the comforts of home and culture is to share the Gospel with those who have not heard it. Pray that God would open doors for them to share the Gospel — with their words and with their actions. Pray that missionaries would see the open door and have courage to walk through it. There are some countries where you are not able to share the Gospel until someone asks you questions about it. Pray that people in the community would be curious about the hope that the missionaries have and ask questions. (I Corinthians 16:9)
2. Pray for Provision for their needs
Missionaries can have stress over their financial situations. Pray that God would generously provide all they need so they can fully focus on the reason they are in their county. Some missionaries will have to find part time employment which takes away from their ministry opportunities. Also, pray for the provision of other things they would need — transportation, friends, a church building, partners in the church, medical care, encouragement, and more. Ask God to give the missionaries exactly what they need for each day and for ministry and that they would trust in the Lord’s promises. (Philippians 4:19)
3. Pray for Protection
While some countries welcome missionaries, others are hostile to them. Pray that God would supernaturally protect them in every situation. For example, you may think the traffic in your hometown is bad, but it could never compare to the type of traffic you will find in foreign countries. Some people will have to dodge pedestrians, cows, motorbikes, goats, deep potholes, truckloads of dirt, disabled vehicles, and more. Pray that they would be safe while traveling and not have any accidents.
In many countries, missionaries will not seamlessly fit in. Because of their race, they may be a target for violence or theft and have their home broken into on a regular basis. Pray for their supernatural protection from those who wish to steal their things, harm their bodies, or destroy their ministry and reputation. As Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
4. Pray for Spiritual Refreshment
When you are in a dry season spiritually, you can be encouraged through the Word on Sunday mornings at your church. But what if you are a missionary and you are always the one preaching and teaching? That would be spiritually draining. Ask God to give spiritual refreshment to the missionaries that you know. Pray that their time in the Word would be rich, and they could find spiritual literature or online sermons which would bless their hearts a regular basis. Ask the Holy Spirit to minister to their souls.
5. Pray for Mutual Relationships
Being a missionary can be lonely. You are not in the country that you grew up in, you are not with people who speak your language or have the same culture as you, and sometimes, you may not have many or any other Christians living in your area. Pray for your missionaries to develop rich friendships with the people around them. Ask God to send Godly believers who will minister to their hearts and lives. Ask God to provide friendships for their children as well. If they all have lasting connections, it will be easier for the parents to do the work God has called the whole family to. You will be blessing your missionaries through prayer. (Ecclesiastes 4)
6. Pray for Favor with the Government
Oftentimes the missionaries that you want to bless through prayer are in a country that they have to apply for a special visa or work permit. This is permission from the government to be there in that country. Some governments do not want outsiders, even if they are beneficial to the country. Others are skeptical of what missionaries are doing. Missionaries might have to enter the country as a “tentmaker”, using their occupation to enter the country in order to share the Gospel. Pray for favor with the government, that they would have a good relationship, and the country would allow them to stay there as long as they would like without suspicions.
7. Pray for their children to desire to live for Jesus too.
When Dad and Mom give their lives and their families to the Lord for His service, the children don’t always have a say in that decision. While some may love the work in a foreign country and want to follow their parents, others find the sacrifice too much. In either situation pray for the missionary children to desire to live for Jesus and follow Him. Ask God to give the children spiritual eyes to see the sacrifices they are making as worth it instead of having physical eyes to only see what they are missing by being on the field. Pray that the children would be partners in the Gospel with their parents instead of an enemy of it.
Those are just some of the major prayer requests that missionaries on the field have. Thank you for being sensitive to their needs and desiring to pray. They have a very difficult job, and they can often feel isolated and misunderstood. Let your missionary friends know you care about them and are praying for them. This will be blessing your missionaries through prayer more than you know!
**As a FREE GIFT to you, download these two printables below for your family’s prayer times.**
Print out this Missionary card four to a page and cut them into cards. Then fill in the information about your friends and glue their picture on the back of the card. Store these in a place your family gathers — like on the dining table so you can remember to pray for your friends at mealtimes or Bible time.
Print out this prayer sheet as a way to remember the seven prayer requests in this article. Intentionally pray for your missionaries using this prayer guide on a regular basis. You can hang it on the wall, store it in your Bible, or keep it with your missionary cards.
Would you let us know how you will be blessing your missionaries through prayer? How have you been blessed as a missionary knowing that others are praying for you regularly? Tell us in the comments below.
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