This page gathers short prayers for missionaries, written for anyone who wants to lift up people who have left home to serve God in another place. You can pray these words in a quiet morning, during a church service, or on your way to work when a missionary’s name comes to mind. Read the main prayer aloud as written, or use it as a starting point and speak in your own words.
Short Prayers for Missionaries
Father, you sent your Son into the world, and you still send people across oceans, borders and language barriers to tell others about him. I pray for the missionaries we know by name and for the many we will never meet. Go before them into every new village, school and market. When the days feel long and the work feels small, remind them that you see every faithful step.
Lord, protect their bodies and their families from sickness, danger and exhaustion. Give them wisdom to learn a difficult language, patience with people who think differently, and humility to listen before they speak. Keep their marriages strong and their children secure. When loneliness settles in, let them feel your nearness in the quiet hours. Provide the food, housing, prayer partners and financial support they need, and bring help at the right time.
Holy Spirit, go ahead of them into every conversation and open hearts that are ready to hear the good news. Give them words when they do not know what to say, and let their lives show your kindness long after they have left the room. We trust you with the results. Amen.
A Shorter Version to Pray in a Moment
Lord, be with the missionaries serving far from home today. Protect them from harm, strengthen their families, and give them courage to speak your truth with gentleness. Open the hearts of the people they meet, and let your love be seen in every ordinary act of service. Amen.
Scriptures to Pray Alongside
Matthew 28:19-20
19 Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
(WEB)
Pray this as the sending charge Jesus gave his followers. Ask that the missionary would remember he goes with Christ’s authority and that Jesus is with them every day, even in the hardest seasons of the work.
Isaiah 52:7
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
(WEB)
Thank God for the feet that travel far to carry good news. Pray that the missionary’s arrival and presence would be a welcome sight to those who have not yet heard the message of peace.
Romans 10:14-15
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? How will they hear without a preacher? 15 And how will they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Good News of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”
(WEB)
Use this passage to pray for the sent ones, asking that the message they carry would be heard, understood and believed by people in their new community.
Psalm 121:7-8
7 The LORD will keep you from all evil. He will keep your soul. 8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forward, and forever more.
(WEB)
Pray this verse over the missionary’s going out and coming in. Ask the Lord to guard their travels, their homes and their daily comings and goings in unfamiliar places.
Philippians 1:9-10
9 This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent; that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ…
(WEB)
Pray that the missionary’s love would grow in knowledge and discernment. Ask for wisdom to make good choices in cultures and situations they are still learning to understand.
How to Pray This Prayer
Choose a regular time to pray for a missionary you know, such as first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee or during an evening walk. If you have a photo or a recent prayer letter, keep it nearby and hold it in your hands while you pray. Naming their city, their children and their specific needs will make the prayer feel real and personal.
You can also invite a small group, a Sunday school class or your family to pray this prayer together. Take turns reading the sentences aloud, and ask someone to write a short note of encouragement to send after the prayer time is over.
A Blessing to Close
May the Lord who sent his people into the world hold the missionary close and walk beside them every step of the way. May his peace guard their hearts, his strength carry them through weariness, and his joy be their portion in every place where they serve.
