Positively, workers can themselves be challenged to prayer upon hearing the Islamic sunrise and subsequent calls to prayer. The dedication of a devotee who places his prayer-mat down in the most public of places can challenge Christian workers to be more dedicated to worship God in their own hearts. However, service in the Middle East does have its negative side, too - the larger issues of their ministry, either corporate or personal. Hidden worries and anxieties hurt, yet as our couple realized, the small candle-flame of their witness was having an effect, despite the overwhelming darkness around them. Pray that our workers will rightly assess the origin and cause of worries and discouraging thoughts, then bring them captive in obedience to Christ.
Discouragement can fall away when workers resolve major spiritual problems they have been carrying.
Even in the face of weakness and discouragement, God s grace is sufficient, because His power is made perfect in weakness . Pray that modern followers of St Paul in the Middle East will be able to say with him, For Christ s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.