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Christian Life

Praying for Missionaries 5

And lead us not into temptation

Of course, missionaries are all so holy and wonderful that they don’t suffer from temptation. Pull the other one!

Missionaries are subject to temptation in just the same way as other people. We all have our weaknesses and issues in our past which leave us liable to drift away from God in our own particular ways and missionaries are no exception. If you face a particular temptation, then it is likely that a missionary that you know struggles with the same issue.

However, missionaries and other Christian workers do have a slice of issues that are a bit more specific to their roles.

The biggest problem is confusing service for God and a relationship with God. It is desperately easy for Christian workers to allow their work and study to replace regular devotional time with God. After all, if you are spending all day studying the Bible in great depth so that you can translate it or teach it, why would you need to read it devotionally? What difference is another fifteen minutes of Bible study going to make?

It is also true that the loneliness, isolation and stress which can be part of missionary life can reduce people’s ability to resist temptation. Those normal everyday temptations to pride, anger, lust or what-have-you can become much sharper when you are a long way from home and going through culture shock.

So, if you pray for missionaries: pray that they would not allow their work to take the place of their Lord and that they would be strong to resist temptation in all its forms.