1 THESS. v. 25. “Brethren, pray for us.”
OUR object is to turn our impression of the difficulty of
missionary work into this particular channel of prayer.
I. Consider the grounds of this appeal.
1. The character of the men required. Missionaries
must be apostolic men, unselfish men, sympathetic men,
patient men. I cannot imagine one so great or so good
as to be beyond the need of intercession.
2. The work they are called to accomplish. It is no
trifling work. The man has to create what the eye has
not seen, nor the ear heard, nor the mind conceived, to any
important extent. He has to vanquish apathy, a dead
conscience, dependence upon others, self-seeking, and self-
indulgence.
3. The missionary has no human constraints; he has no
human helps. He has often very frequent and bitter dis-
appointments, when he would not be prepared to expect
them. He suffers from the climate and its effects. Nor
is it easy to over-estimate this suffering.
II. The need of this appeal. What does it suppose, and
what will it bring?
It supposes faith in prayer, faith in the Gospel, and
brotherly sympathy. All can do it, and every one is bene-
fited by it.
It is for a defined promise, and it appropriates and
applies God’s best benefits.
J. A.