Missionaries Don’t Hide
Those of you who are new around here will probably not know and those of you who are not new around here may not remember but we are in the middle of a series on becoming missionaries. It’s been a while since I last posted on this subject and I thought it was high time I started again.
I believe that we are all missionaries. We are all here because God wants us to do our part in reaching the world for him. The ‘Becoming a Missionary’ series is my thoughts on what being a missionary means and what a missionary does.
The picture above, of a man with half of his body down a manhole, amused me but it also fits with something I was thinking about yesterday.
It’s amazing how much we Christians hide ourselves away from the world and ‘have faith from a distance’. We are a bit like this guy, hiding our heads, afraid to look and see if our prayers are being answered.
How many times has someone asked you to pray for them? How many of those times have you done so right there and then?
Quite a few? Good.
Now, how many times has someone asked you to pray for healing for them? How many of those times have you prayed for them right there and then?
More importantly, how many times have you taken authority in Christ and stepped out in faith and commanded the sickness to leave their body, right there and then?
Not many, I would imagine.
Now I’m sure that many of the people reading this would immediately say “Well, I don’t have the gift of healing, so there’s no point.”
Really? You don’t have that gift? How do you know? Have you ever tried?
You see, something I’ve noticed about many of us Christians is that we’re not very good at actually exercising faith out in the real world. Oh, sure, when we are alone in our homes at night, trying to remember all the people who we have promised to pray for and bringing them before the throne, we have faith the size of a mountain… but then what happens?
How many times have you prayed for someone then called them the next day to check that your prayer has been answered?
Do you believe that God will answer your prayers? Do you believe enough to actually follow up and find out whether he did or not?
It seems to me that we’re really good at the praying in private thing but not so very good at displaying our faith and speaking out in faith to people.
The missionaries I know do things differently. They know that they are there to show God’s love AND power to people and so they speak out in faith. They tell them they believe that God will send healing, or that he will work in their situation. Then they follow up and follow up again and keep following up. Missionaries demonstrate their faith audibly and visually.
It is my belief that we need to do the same. The next time someone asks you to pray for them, tell them that you will do so and that you believe God will answer. Then follow up with them a day or so later and ask if your prayer has been answered. Let them know that you’re more than just talk, you’re prepared to be embarrassed for your faith, you’re ready to put your faith where your mouth is. Show them that you truly believe God answers prayer.
Put the ball in God’s court – he’ll know what to do with it!
What a concept…faith that your prayers will be answered…so simple! Great post Peter!
Thanks, Bridget!
I *LOVE* this post, Peter! Great picture to go with a great challenge.
I love praying for others and being there to support them in the waiting period or the praise!
Here are some of my favorite verses that make me excited to pray on behalf of my friends:
1 Cor 3:7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”
Although this is in regards to the Gospel, I apply this principle to prayer. My job is to plant the prayer and leave the results to God.
John 15:7-8 “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
John 14:13 “”Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
God enjoys bringing glory to Himself and wants to “show us” off, as we do the discipling work of prayer.
This gives me tremendous confidence to pray!
Thanks, Bonnie.
Those are some great verses, thank you for sharing them with us!
John 15 He states that if we remain in him, and His word remains in us, ask what ever you wish, it will be given you. sounds like to me he wants us to be in His word and in fellowship, prayer, reading the bible His word ,then we ask of the lord, he will grant our desire from our heart. Do you think our heart desire will be more like Christ desire? If it feels like He is not answering our desire then we must not have done what he ask first.
We definitely don’t always embrace our identity and position in God even though Jesus died for exactly that. We’re still on earth because we have work to do and His glory to display.
I agree with you, we need to get bold and expect God to move because He definitely wants to. We can also expect the enemy to react, but wouldn’t be awesome to see them react for a change instead of us? I just keep saying that I’m tired of being on defense…
They say that the best form of defense is a good offense…. and we have the best, if we just use it!
Yes, we are all called to be missionaries, the "sent out" ones. Sometimes the hardest journey is as close and far as the neighbors doorstep.
I was praying for a man from Hanford the other day and was struck with His Father heart. The Apostle Paul spoke of such things. As I read your list of actions we do as missionaries- It struck me that these things come naturally to those who have a Fathers heart for the gospel. It always goes back to be rooted and grounded in love, the balancing action of scripture, love and pratical application.
Thanks, Randy