This Sunday NewSpring Church (along with nearly 1,000 other churches across the world) will begin our One Prayer series...and so, in recognition of this I would love to ask for everyone to commit to pray for their pastor every single day for the rest of this month.
I know, I know…seems a little self serving doesn’t it? Well…I make no apologies for that—we need your prayers. And yes, I know that every staff member needs prayer…but I will go ahead and say it…no one in the church—NO ONE—feels the spiritual, emotional and physical highs and lows like the senior pastor. Trust me!
With that in mind…let me share five things that I think all pastors need in regards to being prayed for…
#1 - Our Connection With God
Nothing is more important in a senior pastors life than his personal walk with God—nothing. This is where vision takes place—there is where God sets our hearts on fire like in Jeremiah 20:9. This is where PERSONAL conviction, correction and encouragement takes place…and the thing EVERYONE OF US NEED more than anything is to REMAIN IN HIM so that our ministry will be fruitful. (John 15:5)
#2 - Our Family
Going to be honest here…the pastors family goes through things that most pastors will not talk about in front of their church. There is usually constant pressure on the children. People expect his wife to be perfect. AND…what the family goes through spiritually is INTENSE. My wife usually has nightmares five or six nights a week. Charisse has often woke us up at night screaming. I could go on and on…but trust me on this one…if you want to BLESS your pastor—COVER his family in prayer!
#3 - His Relationship With The Staff
The elephant that exists in many churches is that the pastor and the staff don’t really like each other…or there are some serious jealousy issues in regards to the senior pastor, staff will think, “I do as much as he does…so why does he…” You get the picture.
Pray for the staff that he serves with to be loyal to the vision. Pray for the relationships he has…trust me, it is AWESOME to work in an environment where everyone loves each other. (By the way…I have that!) Pray for the staff to help lift up the pastors arms so the enemy can be defeated. (Exodus 17:8-16) Pray for there never to be any unresolved conflict so that ministry does not turn into a war zone.
#4 - His Battle With Spiritual Warfare
I alluded to this earlier…but let me say it again, you would not believe what a pastor faces in regards to spiritual warfare. There are things that have happened to me that I have never preached about (or blogged about) because, well, they are intense.
Most preachers I know have serious bouts with depression (especially on Sunday night and Monday morning.) Every time a critic attacks it takes a chunk out of his soul…whether he admits it or not. Preachers have SERIOUS struggles WHILE preaching messages…I have literally had thoughts like, “Hey idiot, these people hate you are aren’t listening to you—they all wish you were dead.” NO—I’m NOT making that up.
I could literally develop an entire post on this one area…trust me, the pastor goes through INTENSE spiritual warfare…so pray he would walk in victory, resist temptation, hear the voice of Jesus…and so on!
#5 - Rest
Most of us pastors are AWESOME hypocrites! We teach our churches to follow God’s Word—but then we often violate one of the top ten commandments by not taking a day of rest. (See Exodus 20:8-11, I wonder why God took more time to explain this command than the rest…maybe because it is IMPORTANT!)
It’s tough for some pastors because, well, they serve a lazy bunch of people who expect him to do it all while they sit on their butt and have meetings about how inefficient he is. (This is why the average stay for a pastor in America today is less than two years—churches KILL pastors!)
But, for others where the church does not expect him to do it all—he still can never truly disengage from what God has called him to do. Personally, I am always thinking about what’s next. I usually can’t shake the upcoming sermon from my thought pattern…and…I always feel like that I should be doing something.
Pray for us to get rest—the last thing the world needs is ONE MORE burned out pastor. Pray that he could have at least one day a week where he completely disengages from the ministry. And pray that he would have about four or five times a year where he can get away for at least three or four days to chill and relax.
(For the church member somewhere out there that just thought, “I don’t get that.” True…but you also don’t have to go to bed at night with the reality of Hebrews 13:17 hanging over you…so shut up and pray for your pastor!!!) :-)
By the way…I do this, take time to get away…and because of that my walk is stronger, my marriage is better, I am able to connect with my daughter more…and God ALWAYS fills me up with HUGE vision.
So there you have it. Please pray for your pastor. I know there are lots of people who visit this site from other churches…and I pray that you will use this as a means to get started praying for him. If you want to know how to pray for him more specifically—ASK HIM, seriously, I am sure he will let you know.