Prayer for Our Pastors

Prayer for Our Pastors

By Shirley Mitchell

“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

2 Timothy 4:2-5

 

Dear one, this month is pastor appreciation month. Whether you call the spiritual leader of your church pastor, priest, reverend, or friend, we all need to take some time to pray for our Christian leaders. They balance the stresses of ministry while they are writing sermons, managing church business and issues, attending meetings, and counseling others with problems.  They wear multiple hats as the pastor, priest, preacher, counselor, teacher, manager, organizer, visionary, and administrator – oh, my, what a list!

 

Jesus warned us in His Mount of Olives teaching that in the last days false prophets would appear and deceive people (Matthew 24:4-5). Many other New Testament writers give us more warnings about the last days and the age of apostasy – when there will be false teachings.

 

God has impressed me more and more to pray for our Christian leaders. They are under more spiritual warfare and oppression than we understand. You see, as the time nears for the return of our Lord, the evil one gets more and more furious. He strikes out more at God’s people. He intensifies his battle plan to increase immorality and turn people’s worship from the one true God to anything else.

 

We forget that there is a battle raging around us for the souls of men and for the territory of this country. Our pastors are on the front line of that battle. They are held to a higher standard as the shepherd of their flocks. They are the ones seeking our Father for the vision and mission of their particular church. In Revelation, Jesus gave a report card to seven churches. They are responsible for their lampstand. He sees their hard work and perseverance. He also knows if they have forsaken their first love like the church in Ephesus (Revelation 2:4).

 

So I’m going to give you the chance to take the time today to pray with me for our pastors, priests, and spiritual leaders. Pray these words below with me.  Then try to take a few minutes to pray for those who are in Christian leadership. I’m sure if you give the time to God that your time with Him will be much better than my starter prayer for us.

 

Pray with me: Father, we lift up our Christian leaders to You – be they pastors, priests, ministers, reverends, or whatever their title. We ask, Lord, that You empower them. May they remember the Word that You have planted in them. Grow that Word. Give them a passion for You. Make them hungry for You, Lord. When they deliver messages, may it not be out of duty, but out of extreme love. May they never speak their own words, but only what they have received from You. 

 

We pray specifically for our own pastor by name ____________ (You say your leader’s name.).

 

May he preach the WORD! May he never water it down, compromise, or ever take the way of apostasy. May he know that every bit of Your Holy Word is true, and may he stand on it and be willing to give his life for it.

 

We pray for his holiness. Just as He who called him is holy, so may he be holy in all that he does (1 Peter 1:15).

 

Open a door for his message so that he may proclaim the mystery of Messiah for which he is a bondservant to. May he proclaim it clearly (Colossians 4:3-4).

 

May he never try to win the approval of men. May he not seek to please men, but to please You, O Lord. May he be a servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10).

 

Give him the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

 

May he become more surrendered to You. May he flee temptation.

 

Give him the boldness to confront sin in the church and in the world today.

 

Bind the enemy from stirring up trouble and criticism and wrecking Your plans for our church in our city.

 

Give him a compassion for the hurting, the cold, the hungry, the weak, the homeless, the abused, the broken, the crippled, and the down and out. Give him a vision to reach our city for Your glory. Empower him to walk so far out there on the water with You, taking his people past the normalcy of American Christianity. May we see miracles of healing again – not just the few – but many miracles.  May Your Spirit be poured out upon us – just a downpour of Your Spirit filling us so we can pour Jesus out to the world!

 

May the people of his flock follow under his leadership. May we become passionate about the things that are eternal and lay aside the things that thieves steal and that moths and rust destroy.

May our churches return to their first love. May we be vibrant and as in love as a blushing young bride. May we never be lukewarm again like the Laodicea Church in Revelation 3, but may we be burning hot for You!

In the mighty Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen