14 Things I Pray for Pastors
I was reminded today of how vital prayer is for those God calls to lead His people and His church. We are all equally loved by God, but we are not all equally called or equipped (I am a preacher. I would never be a church administrator. That would be a bad dream).
I stood with my wife and two sons in the midst of 15,000 people today as we celebrated Jesus and His gospel at the 10 year anniversary of Newspring Church. I wept and shouted and worshiped. One of the most meaningful aspects of this time of rejoicing was seeing one of the very best friends I’ve ever had stand on the stage, proclaiming the gospel and pointing people to Jesus Christ. As Perry preached, I prayed for him. And God reminded me that we should all pray for one another, and particularly for those who lead us. Here is what I pray daily for pastors and leaders:
1. I pray that they would love Jesus with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and that ministry would never become a mistress that steals them from their first love, Jesus Christ.
2. I pray that they love and serve their wife and kids with gracious and glad hearts and that their family loves the church instead of hating it for stealing their daddy or husband away from them.
3. I pray that they would be anointed by the Holy Spirit and filled with passion, conviction, and dedication to their calling, their own spiritual growth, and to Jesus Christ.
4. I pray that for confidence and humility: that they would walk in power and authority to lead, all the while kneeling in humility as gentle shepherds who care for people’s souls.
5. I pray for their encouragement in the faith and the ministry and against those who would attack, slander, harm, or speak evil against them.
6. I pray that their sermons would be accurate, true, powerful, convicting, bold, encouraging, creative, anointed, and Christ-centered.
7. I pray for their physical and emotional health, that God would guard them from burnout and depression.
8. I pray they would always celebrate other ministers and their successes and never fall prey to envy, jealousy, insecurity, or comparison.
9. I pray for their purity and holiness and against all sinful schemes, scandals, lust, affairs, the love of money, and pride.
10. I pray that when they lay their heads down at night, they fall asleep and stay asleep, and rest both physically and spiritually, knowing that it’s not “their” church or ministry they are leading, but God’s.
11. I pray that they set a pace and create daily habits and rituals that will allow them to have a faithful ministry and one day to finish better than they started.
12. I pray that they take time to have fun, do things they enjoy, waste time investing in a hobby that has nothing to do wtih minsitry, date their wives and play with their kids, read good books and get away often to find peace in solitude.
13. I pray that God raises up people around them to assist them, serve them, honor them, encourage them, pray for them, admonish them, and protect them.
14. I pray that ministry, teaching, preaching, and leading will never become a chore for them, but that it would always be a joy and a blessing to serve the Lord and His people with gladness, and that they would enjoy every aspect of leading, whether easy or hard, for the glory of God.
I pray these things for you if you are a pastor or a leader. I hope you will pray them for one another.
Praise the Lord Clayton - I was among the 15,000 people today - What an incredible service it was - Salvations, witnessing - so much power in that Bi-Lo Center - glad you were there to celebrate with all of us. Hurry back to NS to preach. We love you Clayton.
Comment by Ann Sechrest — January 25, 2010 @ 9:46 am
[...] Help Your Grip (1.25.10) January 25, 2010 Matthew R. Perry Leave a comment Go to comments 14 Things I Pray For Pastors by Clayton King. Here are the first four: 1. I pray that they would love Jesus with all [...]
Pingback by Links to Help Your Grip (1.25.10) « Gripped By The Gospel — January 25, 2010 @ 10:18 pm
[...] How To Pray for Your Pastor January 26, 2010 at 2:30 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 14 Things I Pray for Pastors Filed under: Blog Post — Clayton King @ 1:51 [...]
Pingback by Love this POST! How To Pray for Your Pastor « Dan O’Deens Blogspot — January 25, 2010 @ 10:30 pm
hey clayton
whats up
i read this and you are totally right
man thanks for what you did a hot hearts
i really appreciate it and that made me recomment myself to jesus
Comment by czoe smith — January 26, 2010 @ 12:42 am
Awesome. You said it all, so I’ll just say “Amen.” Praise God for guys like you and all other NewSpring pastors.
Comment by Kim Huntley — January 26, 2010 @ 8:19 am
An excellent list, Clayton.
Along the same lines as your first prayer (love Jesus with everything), I would also pray that they would follow this command of His: Hate your family and follow me. (Luke 14:26-27). All disciples, at times, will have to do this. Many think this refers to physical family, but it is probably referring to spiritual family. When the disciples once misunderstood Him elsewhere, Christ said, “My words are not flesh, they are spirit.” He teaches us about the spiritual world.
Our spiritual family is the people of God, and there will come times when we need to reject what they say and follow Christ alone, even if we must do it alone. This is because dangerous and false traditions do now (and always have) flood the people of God. Christ constantly taught us to *not* use the traditions of our forefathers to to judge right from wrong or clean from dirty. But that attitude is all throughout the church today.
Distortions of Scripture, of God’s Word, have been used to deceive the people of God ever since the Garden, even since Adam first loved his wife’s word more than God’s Word. These traditions look holy to the people of God, for Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). Nothing could be further from the Truth. God’s peace to you, and may God grant us peace.
Comment by Jason Davis — January 27, 2010 @ 11:00 am
[...] King on How to pray for your pastor. I can’t tell you how important it is and how grateful Katie and I are when people are [...]
Pingback by Links of the Week « My World — January 29, 2010 @ 11:20 am
[...] Came across this this week on Clayton King’s blog: How to pray for your pastor [...]
Pingback by Saturday Night Mind Dump… « My World — January 31, 2010 @ 1:56 am
i needed to read this. Thanks bud.
Charlie Rice
Comment by charlie rice — February 6, 2010 @ 5:15 am
Thank you to you all for yopur thoughtful words. Clayton , thank you, and to all the others thank you. I am praying now and was seeking things to pray for and I found this. God bless you all, your families, loved ones, and all the world.
Comment by Paul — February 11, 2010 @ 12:38 am
Amen.
Comment by jonathan teague — February 14, 2010 @ 2:10 am