At Pioneers, prayer isn’t just important—it’s absolutely essential. Time and again, we’ve witnessed God use the prayers of His people to open doors, soften hearts, and spark ministry breakthroughs in unreached places around the world. Prayer isn’t just something we do —it’s how we begin, how we continue, and how we depend on God as we partner in His work among the nations.
“Prayer is always to be the first priority, the highest purpose, the moving force, the vital energizer of this Mission.”
Ted Fletcher, Pioneers Founder
Table of Contents
- Why We Pray
- Do My Prayers Really Make a Difference?
- Some Prayer Resources
- Join Us in Prayer
Why We Pray
Simply put, we pray because God invites us to. Prayer is God’s invitation to intimacy and partnership. Without prayer we attempt to do the impossible through our own strength—a path we know is only destined for failure. That’s why prayer is foundational to everything we do at Pioneers. It’s not just a practice; it’s our most powerful tool in bringing the light of the Gospel to the least reached.
In the book of Matthew, when Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray (Matthew 6), He doesn’t say if you pray—He says “when you pray.” To Jesus, prayer is assumed and expected. Over and over, Jesus shows us what a relationship of prayer looks like as he consistently and intentionally prayed to his Father. “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears … ” – Hebrews 5:7. Through a life of prayer, we can be drawn into deeper intimacy with God, align our hearts with His, and participate in His work. We believe that prayer truly does have the power to completely transform our own lives, the people around us, and even the whole world.
To get a little more specific, we pray for missions because God’s heart is for the unreached. He is in the process of drawing a people to Himself and His desire is that all would come to know Him. This is a desire that he invites us to partner in through prayer. “Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved” – Romans 10:1. Jesus also expressly tells us to pray for workers to go and share the gospel: “Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore, to send out workers into his harvest fields.” – Matthew 9:38. How wonderful that through conversation with Jesus we can partner with him in His mission to reach the nations.
Do My Prayers Really Make a Difference?
Prayer has always been an integral part of taking the gospel to the unreached. In fact, every mission’s movement in history has begun as a prayer movement.
The mystery and power of prayer is that it allows everyone to be involved in the work of advancing His kingdom among the unreached—whether or not they are called to physically take His gospel overseas. You don’t need to be a pastor or a seasoned missionary for your prayers to make a difference. Just look at Bee’s story and see how her life was changed by the prayers of new believers! – From Southeast Asia: God Working in Unexpected Ways
Pioneers missionaries are upheld by the prayers of their supporters, and most of them would testify that these prayers are even more important to their survival and effectiveness than the financial support they receive. Praying for our workers on the field is absolutely essential, because without prayer, we expect them to do out of their own strength what only God can accomplish. Only through the power and authority of the King of Heaven can we see hearts changed and the unreached reached.
“The history of missions is the history of answered prayer.”
Samuel M. Zwemer
Some Prayer Resources
Here are some tools to help you pray intentionally for the unreached of the world and the missionaries serving them.
Prayercast Nation Videos – Choose a country and watch a short video featuring a local voice praying in their heart language. As you see the sights and hear the prayers, let your own heart align with theirs, joining in intercession for God’s Word to move powerfully in that place. (Most videos are around 3 minutes long.)
World Prayer Guides – 5, 15, & 30-day prayer guides that focus on major world religions, countries/people groups, and issues pertaining to the least reached people in the world.
A to Z Prayer for Missionaries – A document from NAMB that can be helpful in inspiring you to pray specifically for the needs of missionaries around the globe.
21 Days of Prayer for Kids – A tool from Wycliffe Bible Translators that can help you get your kids involved in praying for the unreached.
Powerful Prayers for Missionaries – A downloadable PDF that provides some specific prayers for missionaries and some related scripture to help you pray.
21 Short Prayers for Missionaries – A webpage detailing 21 short and specific prayers for workers on the field.
Join Us in Prayer
We are deeply thankful for the team of faithful men and women who already choose to pray with us. Your prayers truly do have a profound impact.
We invite you to join the team and receive our bi-weekly IMPACT Prayer Calendar, which highlights the needs of our workers, fellow believers, and the unreached people groups we serve around the globe. Through the newsletter you’ll also hear of the amazing and beautiful ways that God has answered your prayers.
Become a vital part of God’s global mission through prayer.
Let’s pray together for the Gospel to reach all people, everywhere.
Lord, we pray for the over 3 billion people around the world who have not trusted in you because they have not had the Word of God shared with them. Please bring your followers to share how Jesus, The One True God, came down in flesh, lived on earth, and died for our sins so that we could be forgiven and have a relationship with the risen Saviour.