It’s important to be spending time in prayer leading up to a mission’s trip. Prayer is the most powerful tool we have and can completely transform our experience on the mission field. But with all that you have to prepare — fundraising, vaccinations, packing, etc. — it’s easy to put prayer on the back burner and be less intentional than you would like to be.
We want to make it easy and give you seven prayers to pray before your mission’s trip:
1. Pray that you will show up with open eyes.
You will be stepping outside of your comfort zone, so it may be easy to try to shield yourself from the difficult things you will see. Pray that God will open your eyes to see His people through a lens that He sees them.2. Pray that you will develop a clear voice to speak the Gospel.
God can use us whether we speak well or struggle speaking at all. Spend time in prayer that the voice you use to spread the Gospel will be clear and unhindered. The Lord WILL speak through you when you are open and willing!3. Pray that your ears are available to listen to the Lord’s leading and the needs of the people.
You will have conversations leading up to your trip and during your trip that you will need to have open ears to listen to. This could be encouragement or advice from those who have gone before you. Or the people you serve may express their needs to you, and, by listening, you can make a deeper impact!4. Pray that you will learn to give love unconditionally.
Everywhere you go, there are people who are hard to love. You may be serving someone who is completely unwilling to listen to the Gospel or is ungrateful for the treatment you offer. This can be discouraging, but it’s also part of what to expect. Pray that you can love those people despite them keeping you at arm’s length and being ungrateful. You may even struggle to connect with people on your team, but you must love them as well.5. Pray for your spirit to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is always willing to take an active role in your life; all you have to do is ask! Begin praying before your trip that the Holy Spirit will fill you with its wisdom. Learn to recognize the Holy Spirit’s nudges and follow His lead! This will be great to practice before you are on the mission field.6. Pray that you will develop a servant’s heart.
Since you signed-up to attend a mission’s trip, it can be assumed that you have a servant’s heart. But some sign-up for the experience or the volunteer hours/class credit and the serving doesn’t come naturally. That’s okay! You can pray beforehand that you will develop a servant’s heart, if you haven’t already, and watch the Lord grant you this desire!7. Pray that your heart breaks for what breaks Christ’s.
The Lord loves those you are going to serve. His heart breaks for them! Pray for a lens that allows you to see what the Lord sees and for your heart to break for what breaks Christ’s heart. This will give you a deeper connection to the people AND to Christ.For those who have gone on a mission’s trip and intentionally prayed beforehand, how do you believe that impacted your trip? Tell us in the comments!