Standing in the Gap

By Linda G.

When I was a child, the church I attended modeled formal, one-side prayer, and as I got older, I desired a more intimate relationship with the Lord. I saw that prayer was supposed to be a conversation, a back-and-forth, a casual interchange of thoughts and information. I understood that spending time with my Heavenly Father in conversation took effort, and since then, I have learned to be intentional about prayer.

I know that being a prayer warrior takes time. Thinking about missions, the people called to it, and how to pray for each of them takes work, and yet God is looking for those who will do the work of intercession (Isaiah 59:16), for helpers who will come alongside others, for those who will stand in the gap (Ezekiel 22:30).

When we consider how to pray for our missionaries we need to be intentional, not hitting or missing. They are our workers in the places where God has called them. I encourage you to pick one individual, couple, or family to learn about. You will be surprised by what God has called His people to do and to be. Learning, I think, will show you to ask for God’s heart for them.

Praise God that these missionaries answered God’s call “to go.” Going is not for everyone, I know, for I didn’t want to go for a very long time. Pray for their daily safety and protection. It is a different world where they are stationed. They’re not in Kansas anymore! Those in third world countries are in places without the comforts they were used to. Diseases are more prevalent, and health care is not of the same quality as that at home. 

The enemy is fighting hard to keep people bound and lost in darkness, and so we engage in a spiritual battle. Our prayers for our missionary friends lift their arms as God fights the battle through them.

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Linda is a missionary who never wanted to be one. At the age of 8, she asked the Lord to be her Savior, but she was very shy. When visiting missionaries told her stories, she was always scared. Tigers and lions and people, oh my! A year after she married Robert 47 years ago, he decided to be a pastor, and Linda says it took the Lord years to prepare her for going out. In 2009, Linda made her first international trip to India with a good friend, and God changed her heart. He showed her that she was groomed enough by Him and in His Spirit could speak to adults. Her joy is to return to India and share God’s Word for living, for building strong marriages, and for encouraging women to be who God wants them to be.