I was privileged to meet a family at New Wine who live in Afghanistan. They are English, but choose to live in Kabul as they feel that God wants them there. Kabul is not an easy place to live and this family clearly accept a standard of living that is less than most of us would regard as comfortable. Even on the campsite they were cooking with an old, meths-powered burner and using high mileage utensils. The mother of the family was nine months pregnant with her third child and thought it fine to sleep with nothing more than a piece of foam below her sleeping bag. I thought that my discipleship was a bit thin after getting a flavour for the way that these westerners have chosen to live at the Lord's calling.
However, even self sacrificial missionary work can have its spiritual dangers. Greig gives an example that is worth considering and that we can all learn from. James O Fraser left a prosperous career and went to spread the gospel in China. For five years he worked among the Lisu people of the mountainous south west territories. He could not understand why all his work and sacrifice and prayer did not produce any fruit. Then he realised the problem, he needed to re-orientate his prayers. He had presumed to know what God wanted. After he took time to ask God what and how he should be praying things began to change. Slowly his ministry saw fruit and then after eight years hard work, the 'dam broke' and many of the Lisu people were swept in to the kingdom.
Greig concludes by saying that 'J.O Fraser discovered the hard way that, in prayer, it is always more important why we pray than how we pray and what we say.' The breakthrough came, not because of a change of prayer, God and Fraser had both always wanted the salvation of the Lisu people. The breakthrough came when the heart behind Fraser's prayers changed significantly.
For prayer.
Be encouraged and ask God to give you his heart for those around you; the people that God has put you with.
John Martin-Jones
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