READ: EPHESIANS 6:18-20; 1 TIMOTHY 2:1; JAMES 5:15-17

Are you familiar with the most famous of all missionaries? His name was Paul. He preached the gospel to numerous people soon after Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and he wrote much of the New Testament. During Paul’s missionary journeys, he and his companions would start a church, then journey on. He’d spend time getting to know each unique culture, and then explain the gospel to them—the good news of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. Paul went back and forth, founding new churches and visiting the established ones, until he was finally arrested, imprisoned, and made to stand before the emperor of Rome: Nero.

Paul was thrown in jail many times. He was whipped, ship-wrecked, and stoned, but even then, he would not stop spreading the good news. He couldn’t stop sharing the gospel. And yet there came a time when this man, who had spent years of his life giving speeches, asked for prayers for how to speak! This is the great missionary, Paul! He knows how to speak! And here we see his example of humility. Weary after so many years of diligent service, Paul asks his friends for help, as he has done many times before.

Pray for me, he says, that I might speak as I ought. Why? Was it because he was about to stand before the notoriously evil Nero? We can’t be certain. And yet, it’s good to remember that no matter what great accomplishments we achieve, there will always be those times when this particular problem or that future event just feels too hard. And when we’re in the habit of asking for prayer for the little things, it’s easier to ask for prayer in the big things, too.

When the task before us seems too big, it’s easy to be hard on ourselves. We’re tempted to beat ourselves up for not being “stronger” or “braver” or “trusting in God more.” Instead, let’s follow Paul’s example. When we are afraid, let’s ask for prayer like he did. Let’s lift one another up in prayer, trusting our loving God to give us what we need. • Kristen Merrill

• When do you find it difficult to ask people to pray for you? How could it be encouraging to know that people are praying for you in the midst of a difficult situation? (If you want to dig deeper, read about other times Paul asked for prayer: Romans 15:30-32; 2 Corinthians 1:10-11; Philippians 1:19; Colossians 4:2-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2; Philemon 1:22.)

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. Ephesians 6:19-20 (NIV)