Daring Dependence by M.R. Conrad (2022)

Posted on 2022-12-28 by thelittleman

A 31-Day Journey with Those Who Found Their Strength in God

“Even today, the work of God around the globe looms large. Those who have gone before us have done a lion’s share, yet the population of the world has exploded since they passed into glory. Where missionaries have previously gone, missionaries must go once again. The land is the same, but the population is different. The smoke of a thousand villages has been replaced by the blink of a million smart phones. The glow of those screens illuminates faces that need the true light of the gospel. Where can we find the courage to meet this glaring need?” (165)

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If you’re looking for an inspiring month-long devotional for this coming year, look no further that this fantastic book from M.R. Conrad. The 31 mini-biographies collected in this volume are gems of encouragement and conviction and will serve as daily challenges for you not only to read the Word but to pray it and live it.

This is not Conrad’s first rodeo, as his previous collection of missionary biographies, Daring Devotion, also served to invigorate my spiritual life when it first came out. I was so excited to see this second volume, and I can only hope there are ten more such books waiting in the wings, so that the lives of past heroes of the faith can supercharge my morning every day of the year.

Conrad opens this book with a brief snippet of the life of Captain James Wilson in the 18th century, an account which affords the author the opportunity to share the Gospel clearly and from the outset. He defines what’s required of the one hoping to find salvation from his sins and a relationship with God, and this is the Gospel that drove each of these heroes to do the incredible things they did and to endure the unbearable sufferings they bore. This is the Good News of Jesus, and there’s no better place to begin.

Throughout the rest of the book, Conrad loosely follows a formula for each biographical chapter, including a broad overview of the person’s life, a key moment in their life or ministry that fuels the day’s spiritual lesson, a moment of personal reflection, and a list of Scriptural passages or full-length biographies that serve as “further reading.” Essentially, each entry is its own little sermon, fit with Scripture, applications, and challenges surrounding one strikingly intense story from history, and I know it’s a book I’ll reread annually for the conviction and encouragement it offers.

And before you think that you know most of the missionary stories already and that this book will be of little use to you, let me give you pause! While this volume certainly contains a number of well-known names, there were also a great many that were new to me. I’ll list them here (with their country or countries of service in parentheses) so you can get a taste of what adventures await you:

Christian Heroes I’d Heard of Already: William Carey (India), C.T. Study (China, India, The Congo), Oswald Chambers (Egypt), Hudson and Maria Taylor (China), Samuel Zwemer (Iraq, Bahrain, Egypt), Amy Carmichael (India), D.L. Moody (US, UK), Raymond Lull (Tunisia, Algeria), James Chalmers (Polynesia, New Guinea), Gladys Aylward (China), Robert and Mary Moffat (Namibia, South Africa), Ann Hasseltine Judson (Burma), John Stam (China), Jim Elliot (Ecuador)

Lesser-known Heroes Who Were New to Me: Henry Nott (Tahiti), Ernie Presswood (Indonesia), Lillias Trotter (Algeria), James Gilmour (Mongolia, China), Jean Dye-Johnson (Bolivia), William Ward (India), Samuel J. Mills (haystack, US), Hannah Marshman (India), John and Mary Williams (Oceania), D.E. Hoste (China), Xi Shengmo and Xi ShiMu (China), Jessie Irvin Overholtzer (CEF, US), Evangeline French (China, Central Asia)

While some of the names in this second list may have sounded familiar, I couldn’t for the life of me have told you who they were or how God had used them in their various fields before reading this book. And one special thing that Conrad does in this book is help show some of the interconnectedness among these servants, highlighting who inspired whom and how the influence of one faithful man or woman of God can result in the even fuller ministry of another down the line. I feel that such influence never stopped with the lives described but continues through the records we have in their biographies and through daily reminders like we find in Daring Dependence.

Conrad also peppers his book with some great little quotations, a smatter of which I record below for your own edification:

  • “Didactic truth informs us, but lived truth inspires us.” (7)
  • “In missions, attrition is a recurring problem. Many new missionary recruits head to the field only to return to their homeland a few years later. Some leave because of factors beyond their control—government policies, illness, or even death. However, many others leave due to issues like wrong expectations, lack of preparation, spiritual immaturity, and conflict with coworkers. Only dependence on Christ can sustain and grow God’s servants in such circumstances.” (29)
  • [Hudson] Taylor often said, “There are commonly three stages in work for God: first impossible, then difficult, then done.” (87-88)
  • “We have tried to tell you the truth—the uninteresting, unromantic truth—about the heathen as we find them, the work as it is. More workers are needed. No words can tell how much they are needed, how much they are wanted here. But . . . our business is to tell the truth. The work is not a pretty thing, to be looked at and admired. It is a fight. And battlefields are not beautiful.” (Amy Carmichael, Things as They Are, 126-127)
  • “Future triumphs for God are built upon faithful responses to trials today.” (203)
  • “[Jim] Elliot wrote to his mother from college, quoting Isaiah 30:15: ‘In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. I think the devil has made it his business to monopolize on three elements: noise, hurry, crowds. . . . Satan is aware of where we find our strength’… The daily spiritual discipline of time alone with God augmented by the examples of faithful servants of God shaped Elliot’s view of life. In quietness and confidence, Elliot’s spiritual strength grew… ‘Let us resist the devil in this by avoiding noise as much as we can, purposefully seeking to spend time alone, facing ourselves in the Word.’” (211-212)
  • “What is the key to working with others in the Lord’s work? God must be at the center. A common goal may keep a team together for a time. However, a humble walk with God will bind souls together, despite generational gaps, methodological differences, or conflicting preferences. As each person on a team becomes more Christlike, their unity will increase.” (76)

This book was a powerful encouragement to me this month, and I highly recommend it for your own spiritual walk. Or, if you’re looking for a great gift to inspire others towards service for the King, look no further than this series of devotionals on Amazon:

Daring Devotion (2020)
Daring Dependence (2022)
Daring Decision (2025)

©2022, 2025 E.T.

Read More Missionary Devotionals:

Read More Great Missionary Stories:

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