Praying Luke 12:13-21

Undoubtedly, wealth is one of the resources with which the church in the west is blessed; how do we responsibly steward this gift in cross-cultural missions? I wish I could tell you we have all the answers – we don’t. I’m asking you to join in the wrestling by praying through the following parable with us this month.

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Special Prayer: Psalm 31

We have been praying our way through the gospel of Luke in 2022, and I am grateful to you for starting the journey with us! However, as I asked the Lord what to pray this month over Ukraine, Psalm 31 kept coming to my heart. Friend, please join with me in praying this ancient song over the current situation in Ukraine.

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Praying Luke 5:17-26

Here at MRN, our team’s prayer life has been shaped by praying the scriptures. We take a story or a brief section of a book from the Bible and let it shape how and what we pray. We allow what God has already talked to us about to shape how we talk to him! It’s a simple exercise, but it has deepened and enriched our prayer life.

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Pouring Out Requires Pouring In - October 2021

We are only able to pour into others as we have been filled ourselves; empty pitchers pour no lemonade! Every worker on the field knows this, but they daily wrestle with the tension between self-care and self-sacrifice. Speaking from a well of experience and lessons learned the hard way, Jay Jarboe guides us to pray into this tension on behalf of missionaries around the world.

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Praying for Mission Points in Times of Crisis - August 2021

Five minutes online is enough to threaten to overwhelm our hearts - the developing crisis in Afghanistan targeting our sisters and brothers in Christ…an earthquake in Haiti followed up by a tropical storm…the rampant Delta variant. Hear this truth, friends - we are not overcome nor are we powerless because the God we serve is still King! In this timely email, Dan Bouchelle speaks to us about how to pray into a crisis as well as how to pray for our family in Christ serving through one. Keep reading to the end for special requests from a friend of MRN who serves on the ground near to the crisis in Afghanistan.

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Declarative Prayer - May 2021

This month we call you to Declarative Prayer, something many of us might be either unfamiliar or uncomfortable with. This mode of prayer simply means that once we know God’s heart on an issue, we boldly pray that it will be so, and then walk in faith that it is already so – even if the answer is not yet visible.[1] It involves knowing the heart of God, the character of God, and the word of God so intimately that we are able to speak with authority about how things ought to be even when they do not look likely.

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Praying for Missionaries at Risk - April 2021

When I listened to the news of another attack by the militant group al Shaba’ab in Kenya, I felt myself stiffening. I knew of missionaries who lived in the region. They decided to stay alongside the local church community and support them through the crisis. I wondered how close the fighting was to their families. And, I admit, I wished they would just flee the area for their safety.

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Supplication and Intercession - March 2021

“I wish there was more that I could do for your ministry, but I am on a limited budget.” I remember hearing this a lot as a missionary when I would share the story of what God was doing in his kingdom. Often it was from a sweet widow or a retired couple who wanted to give more financial assistance to our ministry. I would usually respond by saying, “You actually can do something more important for the mission than providing funds.” Then I would share with them Paul’s words to the Roman church, “I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.” (Romans 15:30).

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Engaging the Tension - February 2021

I’m still a little humored, bewildered, and astonished by this conversation I had with a friend of mine who had been part of our church community. And, while I still find myself shaking my head at this interaction, there is a legitimate, ongoing tension between being Holy Spirit led and engaging in human planning, a tension that many church and mission leaders face daily.

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