A Joint Effort

As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up--one on one side, one on the other--so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. – Exodus 17:11-13

I was reminded in reading this recounting of a battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites that everyone has a part to play.  We rely on one another.  For the sake of this particular blog I could specifically discuss mission and how some are needed to go to the harvest while others are needed to sow into the mission financially, others to serve through intercessory prayer, others through encouragement, etc.  But the honest truth is that this concept of needing one another extends far beyond just mission.  We are the body of Christ.  We are called to be united, functioning as one to glorify our Lord and Savior. 

The only way Israel won this battle was through the joint effort of each individual.  They won because Joshua and the soldiers fought with the sword while Moses was postured in praise (raised hands), supported by Aaron and Hur.  Had any one of them decided their part really wasn't that significant, the battle would have been lost.  Each person has a part to play.  This brings to mind the passage in I Corinthians 12 where Paul reminds us that a body is made up of many different parts with different functions, yet all are necessary.  Whether you realize it or not you are vital to the body.  You are important.  You are significant.  You are needed.  And you have a part to play.

Prayer as a Part of Mission

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. - Ephesians 6:19

This past week a team of Physical Therapy students flew down to Costa Rica to spend the remaining eleven days of their Christmas break providing medical attention to men, women, and children in local villages.  The more I heard about this mission, the more I wanted to go.  Unfortunately, I'm not very helpful on medical missions considering I don't have any training.  Not to mention they flew out the day my classes started up!  As someone who loves to do, particularly to travel, meet people, offer help, form relationships, it was very difficult to watch this team leave and not be on the plane with them.  Honestly, I dealt with some jealousy at the thought of the incredible opportunities they were going to have while there.  Through this, however, God has shown me that although I might not be on the ground in Costa Rica with the team, I can still do something to help - I can pray.  I can pray for their safety, for doors and hearts to be opened, and for God to move in unexpected and powerful ways both in the people of Costa Rica and in the team that went to serve.

I think it's easy to forget that prayer is a major part of mission.  We assume that in order to be helpful we have to be one of the people "on the ground" so to speak.  And if we can't be there with the people, we assume we're of no use!  How far from the truth could that be!  Would you join with me in praying for this team in Costa Rica?  Pray that God would move in and through them.  Pray also for their safety. 

Here are some facts and points of prayer for Costa Rica highlighted by Operation World:
- Roman Catholicism is the official state religion.  Despite religious freedom in the country, other religions are not seen as equal before the law.
- Pray that these churches would learn how to disciple converts after they come into the churches.
- Pastors are often under-resourced.  Pray that God would move in the hearts of Christians around the world to do something in supporting these local pastors and churches.

If you would like to join me in praying for missions and people around the world, I recommend checking out http://www.operationworld.org/ and http://www.globalprayerdigest.org/index.php/issue/day/.  Both of these sites offer daily devotions and points of prayer.