PRAYING FOR OUR PASTOR AND CHURCH

I. WE MUST PRAY IN UNITY.

In unity there is strength. We can accomplish together things that could never do separately. When the work load is heavy, you don’t use a single horse to pull the load. You use a team of horses, and I might add, equally yoked. When we pray together, we increase the spiritual force until it becomes overwhelming and irresistible in power. Units of prayer combined, like drops of water, make an ocean that defies resistance. There is no denying that God hears the prayers of one person but when hundreds or thousands of us pour out our souls in heartfelt prayer, we can storm the gates of heaven with a mighty voice. There is power in prayer. There is incredible power when we pray in unity.

When a church is a praying church, there is a decidedly different spiritual atmosphere that envelopes the church and community. There is love, unity, compassion for the pre Christians, and a contagious enthusiasm that permeates everything we do as a church. When we fail to pray, it is as if there were an invisible wall between the pulpit and the pew. Even when the pastor is well prepared, the words may get through without the message, thus rendering God’s Word ineffective. That wall can only be removed from the pew side. No matter how well prepared the pastor is or how powerful the message, it will stop at the wall. The only way to remove the wall is through prayer from the pew side. The more we pray, the more of that wall we can destroy because the Word of God is inseparably linked with prayer. Certainly preachers can preach without our prayer support but not nearly as effectively. Our prayer support is vital to see that preaching is rendered effective.


II. WE MUST FOLLOW AND PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS

Nowhere in the Scriptures was there an elite group of people who were set aside to do the church’s praying. The commands to pray are universal. There is no such thing as a certificate of exemption and there are no acceptable excuses. God wants us all to pray. It was true then and it is true now.

In Hebrews 13:17-18 Paul said, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. Pray for us; for we are convinced that we have a clear conscience, wanting to conduct ourselves honorably in everything.” Our leaders want us to pray for them. God’s Word commands us to pray for them. They will be blessed if we do. God’s Kingdom will be blessed if we do. We will also be blessed if we do.

Pastors have an awesome responsibility to care for the flock and protect them from the wolves. They must give account to God for what they do. They carry a heavy load. There are times when they must preach a message from God’s Word that isn’t pleasing to our ears. The church is under fire today more than ever from people who want to live unrestrained lives. The secular world and, unfortunately, some within the churches, want to shoot the messenger. When a preacher boldly preaches from God’s Word, he needs our support, and never an attack from within. One prayer Paul specifically requested in Eph 6:19-20 is “That the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel. For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough in Him to speak as I should”. While this does not give the pastor permission to attack people, it does give him the serious responsibility of preaching the Word without excluding unpopular passages. It also gives us the responsibility to pray that our pastor can preach with boldness.

Jonathan Edwards said, “If some Christians who have been complaining of their ministers had said and acted less before men and had applied themselves with all their might to cry to God for their ministers—had, as it were, risen and stormed heaven with their humble, fervent, and incessant prayers for them—they would have been much more in the way of success.” Simply put, if you want to change your pastor, don’t criticize him, pray for him. I challenge you to find a scripture that will support criticizing the pastor, or anyone else for that matter. However, if you go searching, you will find many that command you to pray for your pastor and other leaders. One man said that he felt it was his job to protect the church from the pastor. Rather than assisting the pastor in ministry as a deacon should, this man was a thorn in the pastor’s side. How much better off he, the pastor, and the church would have been if he had prayed for his pastor instead of distrusting him at every move.

The preacher must pray, and he must be prayed for. We can help with both. First of all, we must allow him time to pray and help to keep him in the frame of mind that he can pray without worrying about so many distractions. When we inundate him with trivial matters and try to tell him how to run the church, we distract him and take up valuable time that could be put to much better use. When the first deacons were called, the principle reason given was quoted in Acts 6:4, “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and the preaching ministry”. By taking up responsibilities that enable the pastors to focus on prayer and preaching, we enable them to focus on the crucial matters of the church. Secondly, we must pray for them as well as to pick up part of the load. This should be much more than a casual, occasional, “God bless our pastor” prayer. We need to under gird their ministry with regular, sincere, heartfelt prayer. We can do this much more effectively when we know what their needs and the church’s needs are.

What was it that made Paul such an outstanding leader? Except for Jesus, he really has no equal in the New Testament. Some might say that his greatest strength was his educational background or conversion experience. Some might suggest that it was his gift of preaching or his boldness. As you study his prayer life and how he urged people to pray for him, you become convinced that prayer was his greatest strength. When he asked for prayer, he was specific in his prayer requests. Had it not been for the Christians in the churches praying for him, he probably still would have had a good ministry. But with the prayer support he had, his ministry was phenomenal.

When we help carry the load, we help our pastor to be a better preacher and a better man of prayer. When we fail to carry our share of the load through prayer and service, we add to his burdens rather than lighten them. To fail to pray for the pastor and the church is to be disobedient to the numerous scriptural commands to pray. The deacons are to assist the pastors in ministry and prayer support is certainly crucial in that effort. Deacons, especially, ought to be leading out in praying regularly for our pastors. All other members of the church share in that responsibility to pray.

Many benefits result in praying for the pastor. First and foremost is the awesome power of prayer. God does indeed hear the faithful fervent prayers of righteous men and women and He will answer them. Secondly, when we pray for someone, it’s difficult to be critical of them so praying for your pastor reduces criticism and increases support at the same time. The third benefit is that we will be increasing our support for the pastor and in so doing we will be strengthening the entire support base of the church. Fourthly, when we unite in prayer for the pastor, we promote unity as we pray for God’s hand to guide him. Therefore praying for the pastor promotes unity as we pray for God’s vision for the church to be revealed to him. When God does reveal the vision, it will be that for which we have all been praying and we will be unified in our commitment to that vision. The fifth benefit is that when we are called on by the pastor to accept a certain responsibility, we will be inclined to say yes and follow through on it. A sixth reason is that praying for our leaders, especially our pastor, is scriptural. Therefore, it is an act of obedience to God’s Word.

How awesome a church would be if every member prayed daily for his or her pastor. The power of God would be seen in so many ways. Some of those ways are; evangelism, worship, personal growth, commitment, service, unity, love, healing broken hearts, stewardship, and a host of other ways. A church that seriously prays for its pastor will unite in vision and passion for the mission of the church.

The more of us who are praying for our pastor and the church’s ministry daily, the more of the benefits of prayer we will reap. The better we are informed as to how to pray, the more effective our prayers will be. PRAYER MATTERS will keep you informed on how to effectively pray for the pastors and the church’s ministries. In addition, ask various pastors and ministry leaders how you can best pray for them. It will both encourage them and make you better informed. Offer to meet with them for prayer sometime.

III. WE MUST PRAY FOR THE CHURCH

Prayers for the church are closely tied to the prayers for the pastor. His ministry is not just the pulpit. It is the entire life and ministry of the church. Therefore when we pray for one of the ministries of the church, we are praying for the pastor and the church. When we pray for the other pastors and ministers, we are also praying for the pastor since he is the overseer of their ministries.

IV. WE CAN AND SHOULD GROW

Do you want to see change in our church and community? Do you want to be a part of something really dynamic? Do you want to grow spiritually? Do you want to see souls saved? Do you want to have a full and meaningful prayer life? All of these things can happen and we hold the key. It will take all of us praying and working together to make it happen. Prayer is not a key to making it happen. It is THE key. Without it, we can do nothing that will last. We will only continue to maintain the status quo. Even though our church is in the best spiritual condition it has been in years, we should never be satisfied with simply maintaining what we have. If staying where we are is all we focus on, we will soon start going backwards. God wants His church to grow without focusing on growth. God is so interested in numbers that there is even a book of the Bible called Numbers. What God wants us to focus on is being obedient to His Word. And when we are, He will produce the growth as He sees fit. By praying for our pastor and church, we are being faithful to God’s commands. Those who sincerely pray for the pastor and church will actively support the church through service and stewardship. Change will begin with prayer and what better way to begin than committing to praying for the pastor and church?

Someone said that we have all of the power of God that we want in our lives. Our first response is probably that that’s not really true. We all want more than we have right now. But think about it. You have not because you ask not. We can appropriate more of the power and spirit of God anytime we really want to. All we have to do is ask but our asking is often spasmodic, weak, and doubting. Begin now to pray for our pastor and church. As you do, you will strengthen your prayer life and begin to experience more of the power of God in your life. Don’t read between the lines and think that I am implying that prayer for the pastor and church alone should constitute your prayer life. Our prayers should begin with adoration of and praise for the great God we serve. They should also include confession and intercessory prayers. When the petitions focus on praying for our pastor, church, and others, our outward focus will bring us a great sense of fulfillment..

If you are truly compassionate about God’s church, you will have a heartfelt desire to pray for it on a regular basis. You will want to pray for our pastor, all of the other ministers and for the various ministries of the church. To fail to do so is to leave blessings laying on the table for yourself and the church.



VI. HOW TO PRAY FOR THE PASTOR

Pray for him as he studies. Pray that he will daily bathe his ministry in prayer and devotional study in addition to studying to preach. Pray that God will reveal to him the truths in His Word that he needs to apply to his own life and those he needs to share as he preaches. Pray that God will keep him strong spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically that his ministry will not be hindered in any way. Pray for the responsiveness to his ministry both by the saved and by pre-Christians. Pray for him as he meets with different committees and leaders in the administration of the work of the church. Pray that we will be able to take as much of a load as possible off of him so he can focus on preaching and praying. Pray for him as he leads the other pastors that they will have an incredible bond of love and unity and that they will be able to pray and work together. Pray for his ministry assistant as she assists him in ministry in so many ways Pray for harmony on the entire church staff that everyone will see how their work contributes to the mission of the church. Pray that he can effectively respond to all of the encounters he has with people. Pray that God will give him a vision for the church that we as a congregation will enthusiastically endorse and support. Thank God for our pastor and how effectively he is leading our congregation.

VI. HOW TO PRAY FOR THE PASTOR’S FAMILY

Pray for God’s protection for the pastor and his family on a regular, daily basis. Pray that God will keep his mind and heart free from any family distractions that would hamper his ministry. Pray that he will have adequate time to be a loving and caring husband and father. Pray that his church responsibilities and family responsibilities will not conflict with each other. Pray for Cheri that she can be supportive of him and his ministry and be a loving, caring mother. Pray that Cheri will be effective as she serves in the church and that she will be a good example to all. Pray for the children, Marley, Delaney, and Drake, that they would do well in school and that being a pastor’s child will be a blessing to them. Pray that there will always be harmony in the family. Pray that the entire family can be free to be who they are and not have to pretend to live up to expectations of someone else. Pray for the pastor’s extended family--brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, etc. As most pastors live away from their extended family, pray that the distance will not be a hindrance and that their families will support them in ministry. When you pray for the family, pray for each family member by name.

VIII. HOW TO PRAY FOR THE OTHER PASTORS AND MINISTERS

As you pray for each of the other ministers, pray for them just as you would the pastor. Also pray that they will align their ministries with the pastor’s and that there will never be any jealousy, strife, envy, or any such negative thing. Pray that there will be complete harmony as he or she endeavors to submit to the pastor’s authority and minister in a way that helps to achieve the vision of the church and pastor. Pray that they can create unity in the church by what they do, what they say, and who they are. Pray that the people in the church will be supportive of them.

VIII. HOW TO PRAY FOR THE VARIOUS MINISTRIES OF THE CHURCH

The church consists of the entirety of what we do as a body of believers. When God’s people are in the work place, at school, on the golf course, attending functions with our children, ministering through various segments of our church life, and many other ways, that is the church. We meet and disperse. It is in the dispersion that much of the true work of the church takes place. Elton Trueblood described the church as being like a hospital where the sick and wounded come for healing and then go back into the mainstream of life healthy and whole. We never need to send wounded soldiers out to battle. All of the various ministries of the church have a part in this healing and growing process and they need to be healthy. Therefore every aspect of the church life ought to have as its ultimate mission, the same mission as the church. If it does not, then it might have difficulty justifying its existence.

Our church’s mission is to “Produce more Christians and build stronger Christians for God’s glory”. This finds its roots in the Great Commission in Mt 28:19-20, “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you”. Sometimes we are direct in the application of the Great Commission as we are in worship and in the Bible teaching ministries where we share what God’s Word has to say and how to apply it to our lives. Our evangelistic outreach is sometimes direct in going out. Sometimes it is not as direct as we try to build relationships in hopes of sharing Christ sometime in the future. For example, even though we give someone a bag of food, our ultimate goal is to be able to share spiritual food with them. Our kindness and generosity may, at some point, open a door to share the gospel. Even the times when we have fun together can help to build stronger Christians as we build the fellowship.

Here’s how to pray for the various ministries. Pray they will never see their ministry as more important or less important than any other. Pray that they will see how what they do contributes to the church’s mission and will understand that their mission is to support the church’s mission. Pray that everyone who serves in the ministry will bless and be blessed by what they do. Pray that they will have sufficient workers for their task who understand why they exist and are committed to what they do. Pray that the workers in the ministry will become stronger Christians. Pray that they will not be so task minded that they don’t open doors to share Christ. Pray for the physical health and safety of all of their workers. Pray for those whose lives are touched by the ministry. Pray for their effectiveness that God will use their efforts to “produce more Christians and build stronger Christians”. Pray that they will contribute to the unity of the church by both their attitudes and actions.