Pray Without Ceasing

PRAY WITHOUT CEASING.

This is a verse that we who are committed followers of Jesus know and can easily memorize (it’s only 3 words!), but do we really obey what it says? This is something I have sensed the Holy Spirit’s conviction about lately… like in a big way. I know that all of you have rough stuff going on that others don’t really know about. I, too, have a lot of rough stuff going on that most others don’t know about. We put on a happy face and answer “I’m fine” when someone asks “How are you?” But we’re really not fine all the time, are we?

It’s true, we can’t air all of our dirty laundry for others to see. We all have a life to live and tasks to complete. So, it’s just easier to give the quick answer. But, God, who loves us with a passionate, immense love, saved  and redeemed us for Himself, and continues to sanctify us daily, KNOWS EVERYTHING. Not just the stuff on the outside of ourselves, but also, the “thoughts and intentions” of our hearts. That, to me, is a scary thing sometimes. Because- big shocker here- my heart’s thoughts and intentions are far less than perfect. As a matter of fact, on the inside, I can be downright nasty. Even to the point of thinking ugly things about people I love! Rush judgments, self-justification, insults, etc. But, my God who sees and hears and KNOWS all these things about me wants me to be in constant communication with Him. That, to me, is outright, ludicrous! What kind of gracious love is that?!

God knows the shameful things we don’t talk about that exist in our family history (and even family present). He knows the hurtful experiences we’ve gone through and still suffer from. He sees how we lash out at the people we love most and is grieved by our behavior and the dark thoughts that come with it. But, he is constantly reaching out saying, “Come to me.”

When we humble ourselves, even when we’re deeply ashamed, and go to Him, He lovingly draws us closer to Himself. There can still be consequences to our actions, but He walks with us through those and helps us to be better than we are on our own. SO much better.

I realize that you’re busy. Life is hard. Stresses are constant. And, there’s always laundry and dishes to do! I feel compelled to give you a glimpse of what life is like for us… the things that keep assaulting this precious relationship we have with our Father. And, I hope it helps you to pray. Not only pray for us, but also for others in similar situations, and even for yourself. If it helps you to pray more, then my goal was accomplished.

We have many stresses on our relationship with the Lord and with each other and the ones with whom we’re working. Here’s a list, though it’s not exhaustive. (just exhausting!)

Cultural stress- We function in a very different culture and language than our own. EVERY DAY. Though we’ve lived in West Africa more than 2 decades, we are still not West African… and it wears on us when there are a number of other stresses at the same time. How we drive, how we interact with others, even how we buy our groceries, are all much different here than in our own country.

Family stress- All of our family members live at a distance from us. Two of our kids are in boarding school, just under a 2 hour drive, and two of our kids are in the US, thousands of miles away. The rest of our family, also, is thousands of miles away. We don’t have perfect families. There are issues that happen that strain everyone. And, when you’re so far away trying to weigh in and give support, well, it’s stressful. And, on top of that, we love and miss them a lot. We miss special occasions like birthdays, holidays, weddings, births, concerts and sports events of nieces and nephews. We miss being there for the hard things like funerals, illnesses and hospitalizations, losses and other things that cause family strife and grief. For our kids, I really miss not seeing them on a regular basis. I am thankful for the internet- SO THANKFUL- but it’s not the same as flopping on the couch with them and watching a show together or sharing a home-cooked meal. I want to really know the people that they care about and that care about them. I want to be there when they’re sad, disappointed, when they have great news to share and when they just want to hang out. But, because of where I live, I can’t.

Physical stress- Weather conditions here can be extreme. It’s HOT and dusty most of the year, because we live just south of the Sahara desert and only have rain 3 months a year. And that’s not a daily rain, either. Though we’re vaccinated for just about everything, we don’t get seriously ill very often, but we do get sick. We enjoy sharing meals and water with people as we’re building relationships, but those can make us sick. Power and water cuts happen. I think you can probably figure out the stress of that when you read the first two sentences of this paragraph.

Emotional stress- We get tired. We feel lonely. We get anxious. We feel unappreciated, inadequate, and forgotten. We feel unsuccessful. I talked about this with West African sisters in Christ recently, using the following analogy and they chuckled at the truth of it. A mechanic, for example, knows what he/ she has to do- fix the car. They have the know-how and the tools, and get it done and can hand over the keys to the driver and say, “Here ya go!” and it’s a job well done. In our line of work, we can have all kinds of training, know the language and understand a good bit of the culture, practice good missiology and stand firm on sound theology, but we seldom see results. That is discouraging, especially after years and years of trying to accomplish the task. It IS encouraging to know that if we’re obedient to the task God has called us to, we will one day get a big ol’ hug from Him and a “Well done!” but sometimes in the day to day, and the heat’s gotten to you, and the missing loved ones is overwhelming, it’s hard to look forward to that far-off day.

Marital stress- This is a tough one to talk about. Most couples in our line of work say very little about it, but it exists. When all of these other things are assaulting your psyche, and your work partner is also the person you go to bed with at night, well…. let’s just say that it puts a mighty strain on that love relationship. You can be annoyed at your spouse where you are, and I’m sure you know what that’s like, but as a very wise colleague said to me once, “Things that bug you in your home country will ELEPHANT you here!” My husband and I are both committed followers of Christ, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, convinced and assured that we are called to be here, and we fail at being the kind of husband and wife that we should be to each other, because there is no way to “clock out,” at least completely. You can leave your workplace and go home and on with your life outside of work, and to an extent, we have our home (which we’re thankful for) and internet to stay connected with loved ones, but we are always, basically, in our workplace. And, we’re not just spouses, we’re fellow employees, with expectations of goals to attain together. Believe me, for two very hard workers, that strains our marriage. I know that we can’t be the only ones!

Spiritual stress- We seldom get to hear the word of God preached and taught in our heart language (English). We seldom get to fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ and participate in corporate worship. The accountability of having a Christlike friend speaking into our lives on a daily basis isn’t available to us. You know, someone who sees who you are and what you do… is in your home and knows what happens. If we don’t maintain our own walk with the Lord, we falter spiritually, which is the foundation of everything else. We HAVE to be intentional in our prayer life, Bible study, and honest communication with friends who live far away so that we have His Truth guiding us, convicting us, encouraging us, supporting us to keep on keeping on.

This is a long post, but after having two very wonderful volunteer teams with us this month, it’s become keenly aware to me that we are in desperate need of prayer. Prayer by people who know what we go through and how we struggle. We are blessed to have prayer partners like this, because they’ve walked with us, cried with us, hugged and prayed with us. They’ve seen the people that the Lord has called us to serve and come to love them, too. WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS.  And, never-ceasing prayers. Yes, of course, we want you to pray for soft, receptive hearts and listening, understanding ears. We want you to pray for salvation for our people. But, we also need you to pray for us. UNCEASINGLY.