Building Missions Effectiveness Through Prayer
Paul Brannan

Prayer Is the Forgotten Weapon in Missions
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 2 Cor 10:4 NIV

Paul Knew That Prayer Is Hard Work
In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s  spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. Eph 6:18 THE MESSAGE

Paul Knew the Value of Prayer
Pray for me, too, and ask God to give me the right words as I boldly tell others about the Lord and as I explain to them that his salvation is for the Gentiles too. Eph 6:19 TLB

And He Knew How Much He Needed the Prayers of His Partners At Home
Don’t forget to pray for us too, that God will give us many chances to preach the Good News of Christ for which I am here in jail. Pray that I will be bold enough to tell it freely and fully and make it plain, as, of course, I should. Col 4:3 TLB

Prayer Will Result In More Workers
* It will send out workers who are God called workers.
* It will train them in God’s school of the Holy Spirit.
* It will send them to the right fields
* It will sustain them when they go

Prayer Will Supply the Needed Finance
* God can reach the checkbooks that we cannot.
* The Holy Spirit can call thousands of believers and bless them beyond measure, using their abilities to earn the finances to support missions.
* Through prayer God can and will call many to become Senders.

Prayer Will Remove the Difficulties
* Open countries closed to the gospel.
* Enter the offices of kings and presidents.
* Change the course of wars and uprisings.
* Protect the missionaries from sickness and danger.
* Remove the loneliness and homesickness from the heart of the missionaries.

Prayer Will Break Down Barriers
* Remove prejudice against the gospel and the missionary.
* Wipe away spiritual blindness from the eyes of millions.
* Bring spiritual awakening that will shake whole nations.
* The Battle Will Only Be Won Through Prayer!

How Can We Encourage Prayer For Missions?
* Include missions: prayer needs in the weekly bulletin and/or publish a monthly mission’s prayer page.
* Conduct a frequent 5 to 10 minute intercessory prayer time during a regular service.
* Form missions: prayer groups for each area of the world.
* Distribute to the congregation special literature that encourages prayer for missions.

How Can We Prepare For More Effective Prayer?
* Know your missionaries and pray for them regularly.
* Print their names in the bulletin or read them from the pulpit and pray for them on a rotating basis.
* Place their pictures on a loop and project them prior to the service or at prayer time.
* Secure a list from your national World Missions Department with birth dates, etc. of each family member.
* Use the prayer requests provided by your national World Missions Department, missionary newsletters and other periodicals.
* Use books that focus on missions such as Operation World, (Johnstone, Zondervan).

How Can We Pray More Effectively?
* Be specific: Name the missionary, need, country or project.
* Ask God to call more workers to go.
* Ask God to call more senders.
* Intercede for countries where there are few or no missionaries present.

When We Pray For Missionaries We Should Include:
1. Anointing, wisdom and favor
2. Health, strength and protection
3. Financial supply
4. Children’s education
5. Care and provision when family members are separated
6. Family’s spiritual welfare
7. Bind demonic oppression
8. The success of their assigned ministry on the field

Be Persistent In Your Prayers
Don’t be weary in prayer; keep at it; watch for God’s answers… Col 4:2 TLB

And Rejoice For the Answer
… and remember to be thankful when (the answers) come. Col 4:2 TLB

The above article, “Building Missions Effectiveness Through Prayer” was written by Paul Brannan. The article was excerpted from www.AOG.org web site. June 2016.

The material is copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.

This article may not be written by an Apostolic author, but it contains many excellent principles and concepts that can be adapted to most churches. As the old saying goes, “Eat the meat. Throw away the bones.”