The Role of Reflection and Prayer While on the Field

While God’s love for the nations—and by extension, you and me—is unconditional, loving God does not come devoid of conditions. What does that mean?

The Lord makes it abundantly clear that His heart is for all people, nations, tribes, and tongues to repent and come to saving faith in a reconciled relationship with Him (unconditional). Following Him, however, does not negate our responsibility to adhere to His commands (conditions). One of those commands is to pray without ceasing. We are told that this admonition is God’s very will for our lives (1 Thess. 5:16–18). That means that casting our cares upon God would still be pleasing to Him, even if He does not divinely eradicate the cause of our worries (Psalm 63:8; 1 Peter 5:6–9). In fact, the very things that we pray will not happen may be the things that God sovereignly brings about for the maximal advancement of His kingdom and the proclamation of His glory.

This was the case for me while on the field this summer, as I prayed for several specific things not to happen, yet all of them came to fruition during my time overseas. Those supporting me and I offered countless prayers for low political tension, safety, no sickness, no injuries, strong national partners, translators, and even that the weather would not become a hindrance to our work.

However, God allowed political tensions to rise leading up to and during the trip. God allowed us to feel unsafe at times and to question whether or not we were going to be okay. God allowed several bouts of sickness and injuries (although they were relatively minor). God allowed us to navigate communities without national partners or translators. God allowed us to endure intense heat, monsoons, and floods that affected our living space.

So what role, if any, did my prayers play before we left? It obviously was not to prevent the contents of my prayers from happening, since every one of them occurred. After reflecting on this summer, it continually paints a beautiful picture of how the Lord interacts with our lives through prayer: He either caused, or at least allowed, everything that happened to happen, yet I was given immense joy and contentment amid the trials that I heavily prayed against.

Yes, I was clipped by a car and burned by a motorcycle, but I found it comical. Yes, certain circumstances were most likely dangerous, but they were comical in the moment. Yes, political tensions were rising, but the Lord allowed them to be easy segueways to gospel conversations. Despite all of these circumstances, I never lacked joy in the Lord. Despite being discouraged several times throughout the summer, I never lost the ability to prayerfully sit in His Word and abide in His presence.

Faith is genuine trust in the Lord and a proper response to His call, and prayer lifts our hearts to the Lord in a way that strengthens our faith. It seems that prayer increases our reliance on Christ by fueling our trust and admiration for Him—even if prayers are not answered in the way we hoped. Clinging to His teachings expressed in Scripture, being encouraged by our brothers and sisters in Christ, and sitting in His presence through prayer all help us endure the hardships that accompany both the mission field and navigating life in a broken world.

Nowhere in Scripture does God promise that His followers will not suffer or endure hardships. In fact, Christ often proclaimed the complete opposite, promising that His followers would suffer and be hated by the world, since not even He was free from experiencing such hardship (John 15:18). Even if something that produces our good and God’s glory can arise from hardship, it does not necessarily point to the reason why God allows it—but it does give Christians hope to faithfully endure.

Prayer strengthens our love for Christ, and it is our love for Christ that allows us to boldly approach the throne of God’s grace (Heb. 4:14–16). Through Jesus’ atoning work on the cross, we are able to step into the role of ambassadors for Christ, proclaiming the ministry of reconciliation to the lost (2 Cor. 5:17–20). The deepest way to join alongside Christ in His mission is through prayer. Prayer is obedience to the commands of Christ, which is ultimately for His glory and our good.

During times of security and times of hardship, it can be tempting to forfeit prayer, as it can seem ineffective. However, we have the privilege of speaking face to face with the God of the universe, as a man speaks to his friend, and through that, being equipped to glorify Him and fulfill the Great Commission (Exod. 33:11; Matt. 28:18–20).

If we want to be the type of Christians who pray without ceasing, where do we begin? First, when commands to pray are found in Scripture, they are often paired with giving thanks in all circumstances. Thus, abounding in prayer can begin by acknowledging the infinite reasons we have to glorify God.

Second, we can practically remove distractions from our lives that may be hindering prayer. This is not meant to be taken metaphorically; literally remove yourself from certain locations, put distracting items like your phone in another room, or carve out time in your day to spend in the Lord’s presence.

Third, especially in times of hardship, ask brothers and sisters in Christ to join alongside you in prayer. Again, while God may not immediately squelch every difficulty in our lives, knowing that others are partnering alongside us in prayer strengthens us through love—which bears, hopes, and endures all things (1 Cor. 13:7). Obedience to God’s commands is never contingent on our circumstances—but praise the Lord, neither is God’s faithfulness.