How to Pray for Missionaries (With Free Printable)

A couple years ago I posted about how we keep all our missionary prayer cards in a photo album.  We can flip through it and pray for a different missionary at each meal.

I hope you have some sort of system in place that you use to pray for missionaries as well.  And I hope that your prayer is more than just “God bless the missionaries.”  They have specific needs, and it is our responsibility to intercede for them as they face the obstacles that the adversary sets before them.

It is easier than it ever has been to pray for the specific needs of each missionary that we know.  Most of them send out updates by email, and you can get their most up-to-date prayer requests right in your inbox.  I try to pray for specific requests that come through immediately as I read them.  Later we add those requests to our family prayer time as well.

A couple months ago, we had a missionary in our church (Brenson Jennings, missionary to Niger) who preached a message on How to Pray for Missionaries.  He gave some general ways that we should be praying for our missionaries on a regular basis.  I am not sure I got 100% of the outline down as I was trying to hurriedly scratch it on the back of a receipt, but here is the gist of what he said: (posted with his permission)

1. Pray for their Deliverance

• from Wicked Men – there are many who oppose the work of the Lord and will do everything they can to hinder it
• from Wasted Time – they need wisdom to use every minute wisely
• from Weary Bodies – one of Satan's weapons against those doing God's work is to attack with illness
• from Worldly Attitudes – they need to remember that all things work together for good — even when it doesn't seem like that is happening at the moment
• from Wrong Choices – they need discernment to use their resources wisely, to know who to trust in a strange country, etc.

2. Pray for Acceptance

• of the Message – that people would respond to the gospel
• of the Motive – they need people to understand that they've come because God loves them

3. Pray for Encouragement

• In times of Stress – sometimes it seems they are all alone as they face trials
• In times of Sickness – we all have a tendency to feel discouraged when we're not feeling well
• In times of Sowing – it's discouraging when it seems no one is listening or responding to your message
• In times of Separation – being far away from friends and family is hard

There were so many specific examples that this particular missionary gave which illustrated each of these points.  I'm sure that you can just imagine the missionaries you know and why they would need you to pray these things for them and how they would apply in their particular situation.

I wanted to remember these things, so I created a simple 4×6 printable that can go into the front of our missionary album.  If you'd like to print it, you can do so by clicking on the photo above or the link below.

How to Pray for Missionaries PDF