Have you ever prayed for the safety of a missionary? If so, from what did you ask the Lord to protect him? Possibly, you asked God to keep him from accidents or illnesses that would harm him bodily. Or perhaps missionaries in countries politically and religiously opposed to the Gospel were blessed by your request to deliver them from “unreasonable men” as Paul requested in 2 Thessalonians 3:2.
We have all been created with an instinct to protect our lives, and certainly Scriptures indicate care for the temple of Christ to be a righteous action. This instinct was highlighted during one of the armed robberies I experienced in Papua New Guinea (PNG). During this holdup, in which my entire family and several coworkers were involved, a young man put a knife to my throat demanding money. After we were robbed and left the scene, my coworker reflected that when she heard my voice rise in pitch, she knew this was serious. I was certainly afraid of having my throat cut. So yes, praying for physical safety is a legitimate and much appreciated ministry for men and women proclaiming Christ throughout the world.
However, is bodily injury or death really the greatest threat? Or is there a more sinister danger to which those in gospel ministry are exposed? Christ relegated bodily death to a lesser danger when he taught His disciples in Luke 12:4, “Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.” It is a lesser consideration because these people were limited to killing the body and could do no more. So He gave the command, don’t fear these people who can kill only the body, but do fear this One who has eternal power to destroy body and soul in hell (see Matthew 10:28).
Why did the Lord need to warn His disciples about fear regarding danger to the physical body? This was partly due to the sense of preservation ingrained in every life which is prone to produce an instinctive, fearful reaction. However, if we consider the true source of fear, we can get at the greater danger to which both our missionaries and every true believer are exposed many, many times—unbelief!
Hebrews describes amazing deliverances through faith. “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens” (Hebrews 11:33–34). But also through faith “had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented” (Hebrews 11:36–37). These believers exalted God and had victory in spite of being “slain by the sword.”
What I as a missionary in the crime-plagued country of PNG need, what your missionary friend in the elegant city of Vienna needs, what you as a believer need is protection from our absolute faith in God being eroded or “failing” as Christ phrased it. Unbelief produces paralyzing fear. Unbelief closes the mouth of the gospel herald. Unbelief displaces peace and joy in the midst of physical danger and ordeal. Do pray for protection from accident and illness. Do implore God to spare and protect the physical lives of missionaries around the world. But above all, pray that God will build and protect our complete and unwavering faith in Himself. In faith we are eternally safe as well as joyful and at peace.