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READ: EPHESIANS 6:18-20; 1 TIMOTHY 2:1; JAMES 5:15-17\n\n\n\nAre you familiar with the most famous of all missionaries? His name was Paul. He preached the gospel to numerous people soon after Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and he wrote much of the New Testament. During Paul\u2019s missionary journeys, he and his companions would start a church, then journey on. He\u2019d spend time getting to know each unique culture, and then explain the gospel to them\u2014the good news of Jesus\u2019s life, death, and resurrection. Paul went back and forth, founding new churches and visiting the established ones, until he was finally arrested, imprisoned, and made to stand before the emperor of Rome: Nero.\n\n\n\nPaul was thrown in jail many times. He was whipped, ship-wrecked, and stoned, but even then, he would not stop spreading the good news. He couldn\u2019t stop sharing the gospel. And yet there came a time when this man, who had spent years of his life giving speeches, asked for prayers for how to speak! This is the great missionary, Paul! He knows how to speak! And here we see his example of humility. Weary after so many years of diligent service, Paul asks his friends for help, as he has done many times before.\n\n\n\nPray for me, he says, that I might speak as I ought. Why? Was it because he was about to stand before the notoriously evil Nero? We can\u2019t be certain. And yet, it\u2019s good to remember that no matter what great accomplishments we achieve, there will always be those times when this particular problem or that future event just feels too hard. And when we\u2019re in the habit of asking for prayer for the little things, it\u2019s easier to ask for prayer in the big things, too.\n\n\n\nWhen the task before us seems too big, it\u2019s easy to be hard on ourselves. We\u2019re tempted to beat ourselves up for not being \u201cstronger\u201d or \u201cbraver\u201d or \u201ctrusting in God more.\u201d Instead, let\u2019s follow Paul\u2019s example. When we are afraid, let\u2019s ask for prayer like he did. Let\u2019s lift one another up in prayer, trusting our loving God to give us what we need. \u2022 Kristen Merrill\n\n\n\n\u2022 When do you find it difficult to ask people to pray for you? How could it be encouraging to know that people are praying for you in the midst of a difficult situation? (If you want to dig deeper, read about other times Paul asked for prayer: Romans 15:30-32; 2 Corinthians 1:10-11; Philippians 1:19; Colossians 4:2-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2; Philemon 1:22.)\n\n\n\nPray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. Ephesians 6:19-20 (NIV)