"How to Really Pray for a Missions Trip" by Alison Sales

"How to Really Pray for a Missions Trip"

by Alison Sales

When friends of mine leave for missions trips they often ask me to pray for their safety and pray that hearts will be softened and receptive to their message. I know that God will protect them, I know that God will not let his word return void and that God will use their missions trip for his glory. So how can I really pray, and get deeper into prayer, for my loved ones heading across the globe to share the Gospel?

1) Don't pray for safety.  Instead, pray for boldness!

I have been on missions trips with team members that have anxiety attacks, debilitating depression, diabetes, fibromyalgia, arthritis, and numerous other ailments. And for every single trip, those dear friends who should be asking for more "safe travels" prayers and asking for more comfort are the team members who jump right into the germ-filled crowds and reach out to touch the broken villagers. God can pamper these teams with window seats on the planes and lavish them with hot showers, but no matter how safe and accommodating the trip is it is always the bold moments which have eternal implications.

Every team member would agree they want safety, but they would agree even more strongly that they do not want to miss an opportunity to share eternal safety with someone who needs it.

2) Pray for clear eyes to see and recognize divine appointments rather than for hearts softened to the Gospel. I think sometimes when we pray that hearts will be softened to our message it is because we are secretly scared of rejection. We think that God should just help us out a little more and remove all the risk in sharing the Gospel. If we had a 100% success rate guaranteed wouldn't that be great?!  But if God can do the work of taking a group of Americans out of their daily grind and move them to speak to his beloved children on foreign soil, then don't you think He has done all the preparation work we could possibly need? 

When I went on my first trip to Africa I noticed that my Dad stopped to talk to everyone. He talked to people at the gas station, peddlers by the side of the road, and the motel staff. Literally everyone!  After a day or two of this, I realized that my Dad had "divine appointments" with every single one of those people.  As a team member on the trip, I thought we were on a mission to share the gospel with the villagers, but my Dad was on a mission to share the gospel with every single person we saw until we got out to the village. He was on a completely different trip and had an entirely bigger vision for what God wanted to accomplish. Wouldn't it be awesome if every person who went on a trip with RTH had that vision? So please pray that team members would have fresh eyes to see all of the divine appointments God has planned for them. Pray that they will recognize and already softened heart when they see one.

It has often been said that prayer is not about getting God to do what we want, but it is about God changing our perspective so we want what he wants. As you pray for the Reaching the Hungry trips going to remote villages and tiny impoverished towns this year, may it change your worldview and may it bless you with God's vision for your life. 

Please keep in mind our upcoming trips to...

• March 31 – Mexico Orphanage Trip REG HERE
• April 1-13 - Malawi Mission Trip (Jesus Film, Water Wells, Orphanage, Safari)
• April 28 – Mexico Outreach  REG HERE
• May 19 – Mexico Orphanage Trip  REG HERE
• June 23 - July 3 - Guatemala Mission Trip  APPLY HERE
• July 8-20 - Malawi Mission Trip (Jesus Film, Water Wells, Orphanage, Safari)
• August 5-14 – Philippines Mission Trip
• Aug 24 – Sept 6 -Malawi Mission Trip (Jesus Film, Water Wells, Orphanage, Safari)
• Sept – Costa Rica  Mission Trip
• Sept 29 – Mexico Orphanage Trip
• Oct 21-Nov 2 - Malawi Mission Trip (Jesus Film, Water Wells, Orphanage, Safari)
• Dec 8 - Mexico Christmas Outreach