Scripture
Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer.
~ Thessalonians 3:1-2, NLT
Quote
Never forget to make supplications, prayers and intercession for the ministers of Christ.
~John Charles Ryle
A Second Lieutenant is the entry-level commissioned officer rank in the United States Army. A Second Lieutenant is generally placed in command of a platoon consisting of 16 to 44 soldiers, including two or more rifle squads lead by a senior non-commissioned officer. The Second Lieutenant has a single bar on his helmet. In Vietnam, that bar was a target and as a result, the Second Lieutenant had the shortest life span of any solider in the Vietnam war. It is an old battle tactic, target the leader, the one in charge. There are several reasons you should pray for your pastor, if not every day, at least on Saturday night or Sunday morning. [1] He is Satan’s primary target in your congregation. Never think that he is not human, just as human as you are. Your pastor, no matter how efficient, is not superman: he desperately needs your prayers. [2] Your pastor has an awesome responsibility. He stands behind the pulpit to deliver God’s message. Any mistake he makes can lead someone astray or possibly cause discouragement. I can assure you; he wants to get it right and your prayers will help him do so. [3] Your pastor has a difficult task. He serves five generations from infants to senior adults. If you think it is easy to satisfy five generations, you have another think coming. He is to be bold as a lion and as harmless as a dove. [4] His message on Sunday could affect the eternal destiny of those who hear him. [5] If you pray for your pastor, you become a partner in his ministry. You will share not only in his ministry but in his rewards.
John Charles Ryle said, “No one is in more spiritual danger than your pastor.” The devil is no respecter of persons; nor does he respect age. He has been giving me fits for the past two months and I don’t even know why. I have thought about retiring {again}, resigning, retreating and even relocating but I know that none of those things are going to fix the problem. I will tell you exactly what keeps me going, the Spirit within, the Word, ministry and good Christian fellowship. I am a glutton when it comes to prayer and fellowship. I want all I can get. I have four or five prayer partners who text me to remind me that they are praying for me. If you were to check with them, you would find that my response is always–THANK YOU!
For years I heard Missionaries say, “The thing we need most is not money, we need your prayers.” I would chuckle on the inside and think vainly, “That sounds spiritual, but I doubt that you really mean it.” THEN I went on a mission trip to Nigeria. After spending 10 days in Nigeria, I apologized to the LORD for my ignorance. I had no doubt, even before the trip was over, PRAYER was indeed the thing they needed most. If you don’t think Missionaries need prayer it is probably because you have never been in their position. The same is true with pastors. If you served a Baptist Church for one month as pastor, you would pray faithfully the rest of your life for your pastor.
Extra
December is doing what I expected–flying by at warp speed. This week has been good. DBC hosted the Morgan County Pastor’s Monday and fed us a delicious meal; then we had our party at Grace Point; and then I met an old friend for lunch yesterday. I have a lighter schedule in December which I hope will enable me to make some extra visits and finish some books I have started.
I hope you have a great Friday and weekend. Thank you for reading the blog.