2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: Money is not the sinew of the spiritual wars of the Church. The necessary appeals for money so urgently pressed by the friends of missions should not blind our eyes to the higher needs of those great enterprises. All the wealth of the Stock Exchange could not convert one soul. As it was in Israel's great battle with Amalek, when Joshua could only prevail in the field so long as Moses prayed on the mountain, the missionary is successful in proportion as the Church is prayerful. In order that this assertion may not fall powerless as an empty, dogmatic platitude, inquire how it may be substantiated by a consideration of the chief elements of true success in the mission field. I. THE SPIRITUAL CHARACTER OF THE LABOUR OF THE MISSIONARIES. Money cannot make missionaries. It may send men abroad, feed, clothe, and house them, but it cannot put an apostolic spirit in them, nor cheer and strengthen that spirit when it flags; and yet without such a spirit no missionary work can be looked for. Careys do not come with good balance sheets, nor are Moffats evolved out of glowing financial reports. The great want of the missionary societies is men, not money. 1. Prayer is necessary that the right men may be forthcoming. God only can find the men, and the most gifted men will fail except they go in pursuit of a Divine vocation. St. Paul was appointed "not from men, nor through man" (Galatians 1:1); he was sent on his specific mission through indications of the Holy Spirit in response to the prayers of the Church at Antioch (Acts 13:2). 2. Prayer is necessary that missionaries may be sustained. There is much to damp the ardour and depress the spirit of the missionary amid all the degraded scenes of his work. St. Paul had been praying for his friends at Thessalonica; in return he sought their prayers for his work. He so identified himself with his mission as to regard prayer for the mission as prayer for himself. II. THE EXTERNAL PROGRESS OF THE TRUTH. St. Paul asks for prayer "that the Word of the Lord may run." Nothing is more striking than the fact that the rate of progress of Christian missions is not at all proportionate to the perfection of the mechanism with which they are organized. The years of biggest subscriptions are not always the years of most numerous conversions. 1. Prayer is necessary that God may remove obstructions to the progress of Christianity. Governments may hinder missions. Countries are sometimes closed against missionaries. Then we must pray that God would open a way. What doors has he opened in our day! The Word is now free to run through the vast populations of China. "The great dark continent" is opening up to the light. This is not done by money. "It is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes." 2. Prayer is necessary that God may dispose the minds of men to receive the truth. In a neighbouring Macedonian Church lived the first European resident converted by St. Paul, and of her it is said, "whose heart the Lord opened, to give heed unto the things which were spoken by Paul" (Acts 16:14). Therefore we must pray that God's Spirit may go with the Word, to prepare the soil to receive it and to quicken it when it is sown. III. THE INTERNAL FRUITFULNESS OF THE GOSPEL. The apostle is not satisfied with desiring that the Word of the Lord may "run;" he wishes also that it may be "glorified." This further wish strikes a high note. It reminds us that missionary success cannot be measured by the numbers of the converts. The great question is - what is the character of them? Statistical reports are delusive. The missionary who can make no sensational return of long lists of converts may be doing the most real, solid, lasting work in laying the foundation of true Christian character in a few. There are nominal Christians in heathen lands who are a dishonour to the name they bear, as there are also at home. Prayer is necessary that a right character may be cultivated in mission Churches. Christ was glorified when the man who had been a fierce demoniac sat clothed and in his right mind at the feet of his Deliverer. The Christian who has been a savage is the finest witness of the power of the gospel. But it is very difficult to irradicate the vices of heathenism, as missionaries know to their sorrow. Let us pray for this most hard but most needful work. - W.F.A. Parallel Verses KJV: Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: |
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