Even though Baptist women had been praying for missions and missionaries for over a century, it wasn’t until 1908 that Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) officially promoted and adopted the Calendar of Prayer.  Baptist women have been praying for international and North American missionaries on their birthdays ever since.

When you ask a missionary what you can do to help them, usually the first thing they will respond with is “PRAY!” And they REALLY mean it!

Sometimes praying for missionaries can seem like an overwhelming task–there are so many of them. Asking God to “bless the missionaries” is appropriate, but often sounds hollow and insincere. So how do you pray for missionaries?

Praying for missionaries on their birthday is one way to get a handle on praying for all of our Southern Baptist missionary force day-by-day.  WMU’s monthly periodical for adult women, Missions Mosaic*, has a feature called “Prayer Patterns” which combines a daily devotional guide with praying for missionaries on their birthdays.

Not sure what exactly to pray for missionaries about?  Just think about the things that you need prayer for in your own life. Missionaries are just like you and me. Location and circumstances are different, but they get stressed out just like we do.  They experience health concerns and family issues. Pray for them like you would want someone to pray for you.

I hope you will join me daily in going before the Father on behalf of our missionaries. Praying for missionaries is truly a privilege!

*You can subscribe to Missions Mosaic at www.wmustore.com.