Pray for your Pastor

Ever have one of those days when you feel like you are supposed to pray for someone and you don’t know why.  I’m having one of those today and it is for my pastor. Our church is blessed with a pastor who loves God with his whole heart.  He brings the Word every week and doesn’t hold back. You can tell he’s sought God and heard from Him.  He preaches with passion and conviction.  I am so glad that I get to sit under his teaching each week, but I know that he also needs prayer.

As I was thinking through just what to pray for him this morning, I came up with these ideas:

• I pray that he will love Jesus with his whole heart, soul, mind, and strength and that the “ministry” never steals him away from his first love.
• I pray that he will continue to lead with passion and conviction.
• I pray that he will continue to walk in confidence.
• I pray that he will continue to be a good “shepherd” caring for his sheep with love and compassion.
• I pray for his encouragement. I pray for protection from the attacks of the devil. I pray for protection from people who might seek to discredit him, slander him, or speak evil about him.
• I pray that his teaching and preaching will continue to be bold, convicting, encouraging, anointed, and Christ-centered.
• I pray that God will protect him from burnout.
• I pray for his rest spiritually and physically.  I pray that he stays physically healthy.
• I pray for his study time and his prayer time. I pray that God will minister to him through his Word.
• I pray that he takes time to have fun, do things he enjoys, spend time with his wife, and that he takes time to find solitude.
• I pray that God will raise up people around him to assist him, serve him, encourage him, and pray for him.  And, I pray he allows people to help him.
• I pray that ministry, teaching, preaching, and leading will never become a chore for him, but that it would always be a joy and a blessing to serve the Lord.  I pray that he will enjoy every aspect of leading, whether hard or easy, for the glory of God.
• I pray that he will be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit in his own life.  That he will continue to grow in grace, truth, and character.
• I pray that God will abundantly provide for him and his family.  I pray that they lack nothing.
• I pray that God will give him wisdom and direction. 
• I pray that he will have godly friends that he can receive encouragement from. 
• I pray that he will walk humbly with God every day of his life.

Pastors are people, too.  They need our love and support.  They need our prayers. They work long hours and are a blessing to the people they encounter every day. 

Take some time today to give thanks for your pastor and to pray for him.