Prayer: Are We Forgetting the Most Faithful?

As the prayer lists were made each Wednesday night, I regretfully thought about the ones we were not including, our missionaries.  I remember the day when our missionaries were the first on the list, but most of our people don’t even know who our missionaries are.  Every Wednesday night one of us will mention one of the missionaries, but all are never mentioned.  Our missionaries are serving on short budgets and in stressful areas, and we don’t take the time to name each of them in our prayers on Wednesday night.  It bothered me.  I prayed about it and was led to a solution.

I called the pastor and told him how I felt.  Dear man, he hears so many complaints.  I know.  Both of my brothers are preachers, a sister’s husband is a preacher, a nephew is a chaplain in the military, my son is a youth pastor, and a son-in-law is licensed to preach.  Yes, I know and understand.  The young pastor doesn’t know me too well, because I already had a solution and was handling it myself.  He told me that he doesn’t get complaints and solutions in the same sitting.  I prepared a prayer list of our missionaries’ needs.  Thanks to their newsletters and emails, I was able to have their most current needs.  Now, each month, I will have lists in the form of bookmarks for members to pick up with our missionaries prayer needs.  Hopefully, they will be used in our Wednesday night prayer time.

In our prayer time, we should remember those who have committed to serve God.  We need to let them know we are praying.  The ones who know and understand that it is not about them but the increase of God’s Kingdom.  Pray faithfully as Paul requested in Ephesians 6:18-20, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints; 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, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”