From personal experience...

I posted this as a comment on another blog, but since it got passed along to my dad (and has a reference to him), I thought I should add it to the Salt Mill. Note the Salt Mill-style experience that we dealt with around my dad's birthday each year while we were on the mission field:


I will offer a missionary kid's perspective on the most important ministry Southern Baptists have with respect to the work of the International Mission Board and her missionaries. I'm sure as you read that, you'll think of the Cooperative Program, the Lottie Moon offering, Global Impact weekends.

You might even remember a specific missionary that you've helped with meeting specific needs. Or perhaps you have had the blessing (as I have) of having a missionary or missionary couple appointed from within your Sunday School department, Bible Fellowship class, or cell group. All of these are tremendous ministries that make a huge difference as we support our IMB.

But I'll offer that there is one thing that your International Mission Board, your Board of Trustees, and your missionaries covet above ALL of these. It's a simple thing that we can do. It takes commitment and dedication, but it isn't hard. Done right, you will pour yourself into it and then you will have to accept by faith that God WILL use it to grow HIS Kingdom.

I'm, of course, talking about prayer. In a spiritual war, the greatest weapon we have is spiritual prayer to a God who the Bible declares is a spirit who must be worshipped in spirit and in truth. I can tell you story after story that I've heard of how prayer for missionaries changed lives and changed the world.

Instead I'll just share one very small personal experience. My dad's birthday is December 3rd. Each year that we were in Indonesia, around December 3rd my dad and our family came under additional spiritual assault. One year first my dad was violently ill and then all four children "caught" what he had on and around his birthday. We were in awful shape and our family was near the end of its wits.

The one thing that kept him going and got us through was the knowledge that dear saints were opening prayer guides, reading his name, and praying for him. The presence of the Holy Spirit was more evident to us in those days and we gave glory to God in dismal circumstances because of the faithfulness of his children in praying for us and because of the mystery of prayer and how God uses it.

As the Board of Trustees prepares to meet, I hope that each of us that reads Wade's blog--even if you are only reading one article in it and one comment--will commit ourselves to praying for this wonderful enterprise that God has called us to as Southern Baptists.

Pray for the leaders of the IMB who shepherd a 5000+ flock of ministers. Pray for the trustees that seek to provide Godly, biblical oversight and guidance. Pray for the staff that supports and nourishes those missionaries.

But, and I say this with great anticipation that you will hear me and join me in it, pray especially for each family who has been transplanted by the Almighty from comfort and security into a new land where God intends to grow new Christians for his own glory. Pray fervently and boldly for them that the Holy Spirit would imbue their diligent, faithful work with the dynamic power only the Holy Spirit can bring.

Pray also for yourself that you would be given an unstoppable zeal for missionary effort. Pray that God would bless you with consistency and with a stewardship of obvious resources that can be brought to bear in Kingdom efforts. Pray to be ready and pray to be sent to your own Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, even to the ends of the earth. Pray to be passionate and determined, loving and kind in linking arms with your missionary brethren around the world.