Is Prayer Second Best?

There was a time when I really didn’t like mission agency reps. Seriously. I cringed when I saw them coming. It all started when I was at Bible college.

I entered Bible college to begin preparing for ministry. Apparently that put a target on my head for overzealous missions promoters. During our missions conference, with each visit to the various agency booths, I felt the guilt pile on. I recall one particularly bold rep saying that the only real work is in the mission field. It didn’t matter I desired to serve God in pastoral ministry. The only work that counted was missionary work. We didn’t need more pastors. We needed more missionaries.

I need to point out that this is not true of every missions rep. Many had the biblical perspective that God gives us all different gifts and uses us in different ways to build His church.

I’ve learned that those of us who are not sent out into the field, are still able to participate in real missions work. You may wonder, “is it possible to do real missions work where I am?” You bet! Paul believed that and taught it in 2 Corinthians 1.

Being encouraged by God’s comfort in 2 Corinthians 1, it’s easy to miss a priceless statement on the nature of prayer. Paul’s intriguing comment in verse 11 has helped to transform my thinking about missions and prayer. He said he was encouraged by the Corinthian Christians “joining in helping us through your prayers”.

“Paul here gently reminds the Corinthians that they are not idle spectators of a drama in which they have no part to play”.[i] Praying for others is real participation in their ministry work. Let’s see how Paul’s thought unfolds.

Prayer is a God-ordained way to participate in the ministry work of others

Paul’s Corinthian brothers and sisters had heard of a trial he experienced in Asia, but weren’t aware of its severity. So he filled them in. Take a moment to read 2 Cor 1:1-11.

What the missionary team faced pushed them beyond their own strength (v. 8). In fact, it pushed them to very brink of death. It must have seemed like they were forced to the edge of a cliff, their toes dangling over the edge and they’d nearly lost their balance! He reported that they “despaired even of life”. However, their hope in God remained alive and they knew that He could raise the dead if it came to that (vv. 9-10).

Paul knew that more trials would come. How could he face “so great a peril of death” again? The same way that he faced this one in Asia. He was encouraged by two things: he knew God would deliver the team from their trials (v. 10) and he knew that other believers were joining in their work and their situation by means of prayer. That’s right, other believers were working alongside Paul and his team and were suffering alongside the team—even though they were miles away! Here’s how it works.

God was working, Paul and his team were working, and alongside of them the Corinthian believers were working. How could that be since the Corinthians were not with Paul? They were working alongside Paul’s team through their prayers! Paul explained that “And He will yet deliver us, you also joining in helping us through your prayers” (2 Cor 1:10, 11). What an amazing idea! By praying, believers can participate in the work that God accomplishes in the ministry of other believers.

Let’s look closer at the Greek word translated “joining in helping us through”. That’s a mouthful for just one word. What Paul did was put together three Greek words: “work + together with + by means of”.[ii] Wow! How should we understand all that? He wrote that God will deliver the missionary team (v. 10). And along with the missionary team’s work and struggle there is a third partner. That partner was prayer coming from the Corinthians! Basically, we can render it this way. He was confident that God would deliver the team “as you work together with us by means of your prayers”.

Please understand that prayer is not second best. How many times have you and I thought something like this, “I wish that I could be there to join in the work, but all that I can do is pray”? Paul would disagree with that. Remind yourself of his triple compound word: “[I am doing] work + together with [them] + by means of [my prayers]”.

Is this prayer-work limited to praying for their safety? While that is the setting of Paul’s comments in 2 Corinthians 1, looking at Paul’s requests for prayer in his letters shows that he also valued prayers for opportunities, appropriate speech, faithfulness, and to bear fruit.[iii]

What are some ways we can pray for others in their ministry work? There is a wealth of ideas in Paul’s testimony about what God did through the prayers of the saints. In 2 Corinthians 1:7-11 we discover that God accomplished much. Pray:

• Pray that you be able to share in their suffering and comfort (v. 7)
• Pray knowing that your brethren are not sufficient for their work or suffering without God’s grace (v. 8)
• Pray that they not rely on themselves but on God (v. 9). When we pray for others, we do so knowing that they are powerless to accomplish their ministry work apart from God’s grace.
• Pray that they will be reminded of God’s character and power, that He raises the dead (v. 9)
• Pray for their hope in God to be renewed (v. 10)
• Pray that they would recognize that when they are delivered from troubles, it comes from God in answer to many prayers (v. 10)
• Pray that they would see the good that God is doing in their ministries and that this too was God’s response to many prayers (v. 11)
• Pray that what God does through missionary work and your prayer-work would result in thanks to God from many people (v. 11)

Our prayers are one of the means God uses to accomplish ministry work. The Corinthians’ prayers were used by God. In effect, Paul told them, “this is what God accomplished in response to your prayers”! And, “this is the sort of outcome you can expect as you pray for my ministry”.

When you pray faithfully for missionaries, then read their praise report, do you acknowledge this fact, “God responded to my prayers and accomplished that”? This is not meant to puff up heads in pride. Instead it should encourage steadfastness in prayer and thanks to God for using us in someone else’s ministry.

Prayer is a God-ordained way to participate in the ministry work of others. I know that most believers realize that prayer is important. But I don’t know that we understand that when we pray for others, we are actually contributing to their ministry work. We are cooperating with them in ministry. We are truly participating in their work. We are providing them much needed help. 

In the image above, imagine that the workers on the right are Paul and Timothy, while the two on the left represent the prayers of brothers and sisters in Corinth. The idea is that by means of prayer, it is like we are in the field with ministry workers.

Does this apply only to prayers for missionaries? Not at all! What we’ve been talking about applies to everyone that you pray for. Each of us has received one or more spiritual gifts to use in God’s service. You have the privilege of working alongside of each one when you pray for them. We are all connected to one another in Christ. This is a significant way we live out that interconnectedness and partnership in the Gospel.

One final thought from a different angle. Has it occurred to you yet that other believers are cooperating in YOUR ministry work by means of their prayers for you? Now that you’re thinking about that, does it give you hope?

It should be obvious now that God fixed my attitude toward missions reps. Occasionally I still find myself the recipient of someone’s guilt trip. But I now am confident God has blessed me with the opportunity to enter into other men’s labor—by means of my prayers. My job then is to be faithful to that work for the prayer-help that my brothers and sisters need. I must pray. Prayer is good work in the eyes of God.

Under the fig tree:

It can be helpful in any job to make a to-do list. Now that you know prayer is true work, what are some ideas to help us make a prayer-work to-do list?

[i] Geoffrey Wilson, 2 Corinthians, (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1979), p. 22.

[ii] The order is different in the way the Greek prepositions are stacked onto the word for “work” but I am trying to render the thought the word conveys.

[iii] Romans 15:30-32; Ephesians 6:19-20; Philippians 1:19-20; Colossians 4:2-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2; Philemon 1:22.