Will you promise to join us in praying for the next week?
“Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 1:4-8 ESV)
Over the past two weeks we have dug into Jeremiah 1:4-8 and thought about two things. First, God told Jeremiah (and us) that we need not be afraid. Fear freezes us. Fear is debilitating. Second, God gave us an unbelievable reason not to be afraid – God is always by our side ready to deliver us!
Still, I am asking for the hundreds who receive this weekly email to join us in praying for every missionary, every mission, and every ministry you know. I am asking for your fervent and committed prayer, because these promises of God do not cause Satan to back off. I am asking for you to join in prayer, because Satan is attacking today. Satan is applying pressure to create a moment of weakness and a sliver of doubt in the mind of faithful servants. Satan’s greatest desire is to have missionaries give up on God’s promise – because he will use that to solidify his grip on the lost!
Yes, God has promised to deliver, but God never promised to prevent trials from coming. Scripture is filled with stories of God showing up, but God is showing up in the heat of a furnace and in the lion’s den. God was not seen standing guard at the door preventing temptations from happening.
I know that many worthy mission works are struggling with financial issues. Mission Services recently received a letter from a faithful supporting congregation alerting us to a coming 30% reduction in support due to a drop in the congregation’s giving. Satan will use the murder of Charles Finney (mentioned in the January 11 stories above) to strike fear into hearts and minds. Persecution has always been present for Christians in many places, because it is a tool of Satan.
Join us in praying for God’s strength, God’s perseverance, God’s confidence, and God’s Spirit to rest upon and within faithful missionaries. God has promised to be with them…our prayers are our way of being there as well! You think about that!
Praying for more to be His,
Reggie Hundley
Executive Director
Mission Services Association, Inc.
the missions network
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