“The Real Power of Missions”

By Dr. Michael G. Loftis, President of ABWE

As dawn breaks over Portland, a retired carpenter kneels by the sofa in the quiet darkness of the early morning and prays earnestly over the tattered list of missionaries in the back of his Bible. At noon, in Wichita, a small group of office workers skip lunch to meet in the park and pray for the missionary family their church supports. That same evening, in Rochester, NY, several couples gather around the coffee table in a suburban home to intercede for national believers in a Muslim region that severely persecutes Christians.

Halfway around the world, a missionary evangelist shudders at the temptation before his eyes. He has not felt such a powerful tug in years. In fact, he was certain that old addiction had been broken. Suddenly a gust of wind lifts his hat and he follows it as it tumbles erratically across the street. He rescues it just before it blows into a large mud puddle, and as he steps back onto the sidewalk, he notices a poster in a store window advertising “The Passion of the Christ.” Staring into the face of his suffering Savior, he is overwhelmed with love and gratitude for the forgiveness and freedom from his former addiction. He walks quickly away, humming, “You paid the price for my guilt and my shame, Jesus, I come to the cross.”

Several time zones away, a young missionary couple wonders if their first term has been a total failure. Suddenly they hear a knock at their door, and the peep hole reveals a couple from their apartment building nervously looking around. The missionaries invite them in and start a pot of boiling water for tea. After polite conversation and a warm cup of tea, the visiting woman elbows her partner and blurts out, “So, go ahead and tell them.” After a moment of silence, he consents. “We have been wondering about the things you said during our last Bible study. Last night I got a telephone call telling me that my best friend had just been killed in a car accident. Was he ready to face God? We talked all night about this question. We came to tell you our decision—we want to become true followers of Jesus.”

Deep in a prison in Southeast Asia , a door clangs open and a lone prisoner squints at the bright bulb hanging outside the cell. A guard says simply, “Follow me.” The prisoner shuffles slowly behind. He coughs nervously when they stop outside the director's office. The director, brimming with rage, says, “I don't know who your friends are, and I don't care. I only know that, if I ever see your filthy face in my prison again, you will never leave here alive. Some idiot has signed your release and until we can prove it was a fraud we must let you go. Now, get out!” Minutes later, people wonder if the poor man stumbling away from the prison is mentally unbalanced as he laughs and praises God all the way down the street.

All heaven smiles at these scenes, because heaven knows the power of prayer. Do we? Before Jesus ever said go, He said pray. Before He left his disciples to ascend to heaven, He told them to pray. Over 150 times in the New Testament believers are exhorted to pray. So why don't we?

Sometime in the past year, each of the candidates featured in this issue came to a compelling moment of decision and took a step toward missionary service. If we could follow the chain of influence that caused every missionary prospect to follow God's call to the doorstep of ABWE this past year, we would ultimately find someone who prayed exactly the prayer that Christ taught his disciples to pray in the verses below. So, how are you praying today?

"Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).

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