How to Pray for Missions: Prayer is the Key
Before I drill down into the How of Praying for Missions, let me take just one short blog to deal with the Why. Why should we pray for missions? Why should you care? Why should you read a series of blog articles on the subject in order to pray more and more effectively for missions? Does it really matter?
The answer to these questions is Yes it really matters! And Why does it matter?
Because Prayer is the Key!
I was a pastor of a great church in Western Kentucky for several years before I began to work in full time missions. One of the most blessed things I did, was lead in the dedication prayer for a new baby that a church family had been granted by the Lord. We really emphasized kids and youth at our church.....from a full children's ministry, to a dynamic youth ministry, to a fully accredited Christian School for grades K-12. Our church saw that bringing up children in the Lord's way was a primary responsibility for a local church, as it helped individual families fulfill this calling. But the entry level of that was the Baby Dedication. Really it was a Parent dedication, to raise the child in the Word of God.
Each time I participated in this, I would read the following scripture: Psalm 127. Here is what it says:
1. Except the LORD build the house, those who build labor in vain; except the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
2. It is vain for you to rise up early, to stay up late, and to eat the bread of hard toil, for He gives sleep to His beloved.
3. Look, children are a gift of the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is a reward.
4. As arrows in the hand of a mighty warrior, so are the children of one's youth.
5. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; he shall not be ashamed when he speaks with the enemies at the gate. (Modern English Version)
Of course in the baby dedication service we emphasized verses 3-5. But the other day this psalm was brought to my mind as I thought about prayer for Missions! It is verse 1 that stands out:
Except the LORD build the house, those who build labor in vain.
That phrase is even more significant when you realize that this song was written, not by David, but by his son Solomon. Now what was Solomon famous for? Yes I know, a bunch of wives......but more importantly it was He who had the assignment to build the Temple of God in Jerusalem.
The House it is talking about is the House of God....the Temple of God. Solomon recognized that although his father David had laid up a lot of resources for the building, and Solomon organized the building, and thousands of workers labored to build the building.....in fact it would never be done if God Himself, the LORD, Yahweh did the work. The LORD worked in, through, with, and even in spite of the workers to bring the project to fruition. It is God's work.
Now in the New Testament, the physical Temple is seen as a metaphor for the real Temple of God. God's people are the Temple. The Church is the Temple of God. Our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 2 tells us that we are individual stones in this Spiritual House.
In fact what is Missions other than the process of winning souls and making disciples that become a part of this great Temple that God is building. Completion of the Great Commission, which we call Closure, means the finishing of this Great Spiritual Temple, the Body of Christ! Every new disciple is another building block added to the structure.
One day Matthew 24:14 will be fulfilled. " And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." That is the ultimate purpose of Missions, and that is the completion of the Temple!
And the point of this blog is this: The Spiritual Temple must be build with great effort. Resources must be gathered. Missionaries and disciple makers must be trained and sent. Human effort must be given. Blood, Sweat, and Tears will be shed!
But it will never be fulfilled Unless the LORD actually does the work. That is where Prayer comes in. Prayer is the Key to Linking our Work with the Work that counts, the Work that God does through His Holy Spirit.
Let me be so bold as to say this: Since Prayer is the Key to the LORD building His House, Finishing His Great Commission, then the Prayer Warrior or Intercessor is as much a Missionary as one who goes to another nation and does the work of winning souls and making disciples. Again let me be abundantly clear: INTERCESSORS ARE MISSIONARIES!
Oswald Chambers told us: It is not prayer for the work. Prayer is the Work.
You can enter the Mission Force right now, right where you are, without leaving your house IF you become an Intercessor for Missions. You can perform a vital function in bringing the Mission to Closure, IF you will faithfully and accurately Pray!
That is the Why. The next blog will begin the journey of explaining the How. Will you Join the Mission Prayer Force?
The answer to these questions is Yes it really matters! And Why does it matter?
Because Prayer is the Key!
I was a pastor of a great church in Western Kentucky for several years before I began to work in full time missions. One of the most blessed things I did, was lead in the dedication prayer for a new baby that a church family had been granted by the Lord. We really emphasized kids and youth at our church.....from a full children's ministry, to a dynamic youth ministry, to a fully accredited Christian School for grades K-12. Our church saw that bringing up children in the Lord's way was a primary responsibility for a local church, as it helped individual families fulfill this calling. But the entry level of that was the Baby Dedication. Really it was a Parent dedication, to raise the child in the Word of God.
Each time I participated in this, I would read the following scripture: Psalm 127. Here is what it says:
1. Except the LORD build the house, those who build labor in vain; except the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
2. It is vain for you to rise up early, to stay up late, and to eat the bread of hard toil, for He gives sleep to His beloved.
3. Look, children are a gift of the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is a reward.
4. As arrows in the hand of a mighty warrior, so are the children of one's youth.
5. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; he shall not be ashamed when he speaks with the enemies at the gate. (Modern English Version)
Of course in the baby dedication service we emphasized verses 3-5. But the other day this psalm was brought to my mind as I thought about prayer for Missions! It is verse 1 that stands out:
Except the LORD build the house, those who build labor in vain.
That phrase is even more significant when you realize that this song was written, not by David, but by his son Solomon. Now what was Solomon famous for? Yes I know, a bunch of wives......but more importantly it was He who had the assignment to build the Temple of God in Jerusalem.
The House it is talking about is the House of God....the Temple of God. Solomon recognized that although his father David had laid up a lot of resources for the building, and Solomon organized the building, and thousands of workers labored to build the building.....in fact it would never be done if God Himself, the LORD, Yahweh did the work. The LORD worked in, through, with, and even in spite of the workers to bring the project to fruition. It is God's work.
Now in the New Testament, the physical Temple is seen as a metaphor for the real Temple of God. God's people are the Temple. The Church is the Temple of God. Our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 2 tells us that we are individual stones in this Spiritual House.
In fact what is Missions other than the process of winning souls and making disciples that become a part of this great Temple that God is building. Completion of the Great Commission, which we call Closure, means the finishing of this Great Spiritual Temple, the Body of Christ! Every new disciple is another building block added to the structure.
One day Matthew 24:14 will be fulfilled. " And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." That is the ultimate purpose of Missions, and that is the completion of the Temple!
And the point of this blog is this: The Spiritual Temple must be build with great effort. Resources must be gathered. Missionaries and disciple makers must be trained and sent. Human effort must be given. Blood, Sweat, and Tears will be shed!
But it will never be fulfilled Unless the LORD actually does the work. That is where Prayer comes in. Prayer is the Key to Linking our Work with the Work that counts, the Work that God does through His Holy Spirit.
Let me be so bold as to say this: Since Prayer is the Key to the LORD building His House, Finishing His Great Commission, then the Prayer Warrior or Intercessor is as much a Missionary as one who goes to another nation and does the work of winning souls and making disciples. Again let me be abundantly clear: INTERCESSORS ARE MISSIONARIES!
Oswald Chambers told us: It is not prayer for the work. Prayer is the Work.
You can enter the Mission Force right now, right where you are, without leaving your house IF you become an Intercessor for Missions. You can perform a vital function in bringing the Mission to Closure, IF you will faithfully and accurately Pray!
That is the Why. The next blog will begin the journey of explaining the How. Will you Join the Mission Prayer Force?
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