“We pray for you every day,” said a supporter at one of our churches, my hand held fast in theirs.

All I could say was, “Thank you so much, we need them!” How can you properly thank someone who brings your name before the King of kings on a daily basis? I might expect my mother to do this, but someone whom I barely know?

I have heard similar messages as this all throughout furlough, and it is incredibly humbling. This singular act on our behalf is priceless. On the tough days in the field, when everything seems to be going wrong, we are encouraged by the fact that we have an army lifting us up in prayer. When something that should have gone wrong goes right, we thank the Lord for His mercy, and we feel those prayers reaching across the ocean.

My math professor from high school still messages me (as do many of his former students) on a monthly basis with an encouraging message and a promise that he and his wife are praying for me that day. What a ministry.

Friends, when you read our stories over your cereal bowl in the morning and whisper a silent prayer for the subjects of our articles or for our families, you are doing the Lord’s work. You are going to battle on our behalf. We thank you.

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