Saturday, October 13, 2012

Prayer and Missions


We have the pleasure this week of Pastor Mike Gantt coming to share with us in worship, as well discussing his work in missionary projects, most recently as an advocate for the Immanuel Christian School for the Deaf. I am excited to hear what he has to say to us today.  Ever since Ben’s trip to Zimbabwe I have been thinking about missions and today’s visit has piqued my interest even more.

So let us look at what the Bible has to say about missionaries and the work Jesus calls us to do, we see for instance in Luke 9 where Jesus sends out the Twelve, verses 2 and 6 “and he sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick” “So they set out from village to village, preaching the Gospel and healing people everywhere.” Later in Luke 10 Jesus sends out the 72 who we see in verse 17 when “the 72 returned with joy and said “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name” This filled Jesus with joy through the Holy Spirit and he prays to the Father in verse23 “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure” In short He is telling us go out, preach the Gospel, heal the sick, it is for His good pleasure!

While studying and doing research on missions and how it relates to prayer I recently picked up a book I left off reading a few months ago. I opened the bookmark I had left in E.M. Bounds “On Prayer” to chapter 13 titled “Prayer and Missions”.  While we don’t have time to read the whole chapter, I would like to read a paragraph that really impacted me. Please keep in mind this was written well prior to 1900, and while some of the language may not be “P.C.” the ideas I think still stand.

“It is praying missionaries who are needed for the work, and it is a praying church who sends them out, (and it is these) which are prophecies of the success which is promised. The sort of religion to be exported by missionaries is of the praying sort. The religion to which the heathen world is to be converted is a religion of prayer, and a religion of prayer to the true God. The heathen world already prays to its idols and false gods. But they are to be taught by praying missionaries, sent out by a praying church, to cast away their idols and to begin to call upon the Lord Jesus Christ. No prayerless church can transport to heathen lands a praying religion. No prayerless missionary can bring heathen idolaters who know not our God to their knees, to true prayer, until he becomes preeminently a man of prayer. As it takes praying men a home to do God’s work, none the less does it take praying missionaries to bring those who sit in darkness to the light.”

We as a church need to be praying for missionaries, pray that we send out missionaries who pray, and ultimately pray that those who are impacted by the missionaries sent out by God will hear and accept the Word by faith and pray, by the Holy Spirit, in Jesus name to God.

Let me close up with Paul’s request to the Thessalonians for prayer in 2 Thessalonians 3 1:5 “Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray the we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”