5 REASONS TO PRAY DAILY FOR YOUR PREACHERS

Sometimes we read newspapers and magazines about fake and true pastors, pastors involved in indecent conducts, pastors declining the responsibility and so on. Why do we think this happens? They need our prayers. A lot of pastors are under so much pressure that they cannot express and before long you hear of them giving up.  Our pastors can struggle too with something; they can be depressed and feel bitter just like you. Pastors have spouses who at times feel ministry contributes to their family problems. Let me share this little experience I had some months ago; God laid in my heart the burden to pray for a man of God whose songs bless my life greatly and I prayed earnestly for some time and fell asleep. I had a short dream where I saw many men and women dumped where garbage is emptied and while I was wondering who these people are and the Holy Spirit whispered in my ear that they are pastors and immediately i heard the word EMPTINESS. I believe God wanted me to pray for pastors because most of them are faced with emptiness. These are some five reasons why we should pray for our pastors and ministers daily. 
  It’s our duty to pray for them: It’s only natural that we pray for those who preach to us. As believers we are called to pray for one another as well as those in authority/leaders.  As believers, when faced with extreme challenges the first person that comes to our minds is our pastor. We try to meet him for counsel, encouragement and prayer. If that person gives that precious time to you each time you go to him/her then why don’t you pray for them to get more wisdom and grace from the Father.

  He/she is your leader and is the authority over you: He speaks over your life daily, he prays for your wellbeing, he imparts you directly or indirectly. He teaches you what God has taught him. What comes out of his mouth directly affects your life, what he believes automatically becomes your belief so, if your pastor doesn’t preach the truth, you tend to believe whatever he says especially if you are not versed with the Bible. This is the ultimate reason why you have to pray for your pastor; pray for his life as your teacher, pray for clarity of vision in his life, lift his commitment to God in prayer daily, lift his prayer life, his bible study life etc before God daily. The more you fellowship under his ministry with him as your preacher, you receive some gifts from him and likely to adapt his style of doing certain things like speaking.

  Your pastor has a life and a family: He’s still human; he has a family and responsibilities apart from ministry duties. He has to teach his children about God, he has to love his wife as Christ loves the church. He has to show love to his mom, dad, sisters and brothers. Your pastor is also accountable to God how he treats his spouse and children. He has relationships to maintain, he needs to be emotionally stable to give good report, he has to make you see the power of God in all that he does even when he/she doesn’t feel okay inside. Your pastor needs your prayer dear beloved.

  He needs God’s Grace to go on: There are times when your pastor feels confused, depressed, broken and needs just a hug which at times there’s nobody to hug him. There are times when he/she may say something that you totally disagree instead of correcting him, church members give him names. There are times when he’s on leave and yet church emergencies disrupt his time with his family. There are times when your pastor needs a friend to chat and laugh with but all he gets are congregants with their numerous challenges. There are times when your pastor’s intentions are misjudged and instead for the congregants to stand for what they know, they criticize him. As believers, we should extend grace towards our pastors, we should pray for them more than we talk about their shortcomings. Because he’s been called to lead doesn’t make him a super human but one we should look upon with grace and not judgment. 
  He faces challenges just like you: The pastor has challenging times just like you. There are times when he loses a loved one in his family, there are times he feels he cannot go on, there are many days he thinks he choosed the wrong profession. There are times his family nags him because he has left them aside because of ministry, there are times when their spouses tend not to trust them because of the long hours they spend in the ministry. There are times when he/she is dealing with a rebellious child and he’s doing everything he can to be sober for our sakes. Some church members accuse pastors of embezzlement even when they are innocent. Church members accuse them of adultery setting fire and discord in their homes. Pastors are often sitting on very hot seats hit by challenges from every corner. Do you know why he doesn’t give up? Because of you and I. When he sits alone contemplating resignation, he thinks of the sheep assigned to him as a shepherd. 

Brethren, do you pray for your pastor? Do you pray for their profession? Are you one of those people who celebrate when he’s been accused of ungodly things? I’m not trying to attack your conscience. No! I just want us to open our eyes to see that we as one body which is Christ’s Body should extend grace to one another. We should love them as Christ loves us. If we pray for them more than we sabotage them we’ll always appreciate their calling. Even when we are as stubborn and rude as the children of Israel during the reign of Moses the pastor hangs in there. Not all pastors are assigned to a friendly congregation, not all of them are able to stand and face those challenges without stumbling. Even if a pastor walks out of the faith, it is the church that suffers.  Please brethren, let’s make a commitment to pray for our pastors and ministers even if we don’t pray for them daily we should often make mention of them in our prayers. Let the love of Christ rule in our hearts.

Be blessed in Jesus Name!!!