Superman is invulnerable. Pastors are not. God’s people are not. Pastors have flaws, temptations, and struggles. Pastors have insecurities. Pastors do not always know exactly what should be done next. Pastors yell or want to yell at their kids. Christians are all clay called to shine the light of Christ.
What is the answer? Pastors need prayer. They carry the burden of their ministry, the burdens of their people, their own burdens, their own fears, and their own sinfulness. Pastors need prayer.
19 Pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Ephesians 6:19-20
The funny thing is, I am not the first one to declare this. Paul was. He asked for prayer. He begged for prayer. He asked that words would be given to him when he needed them. He prayed that he would be bold even as he felt the chains around his wrists. In other words, he was praying for courage. Do pastors need less courage today than they did in those days? Do pastors need God’s words to come out of their mouths less today than Paul did then? How can we today not pray for our pastors?
Yet, pastors aren’t the only ones who need prayer. Paul begins his request for prayer by urging the church to, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,” (Ephesians 6:18) Paul asked for prayer for all the saints. That’s you and me. In fact, Paul urges them to persevere in prayer. Simply put, that means to keep praying. Don’t stop.
We need to be folks who passionately pray for one another. We need it. Pastors need it. All Christians need it. This brings two questions to mind:
1 – Do we actually pray or do we just talk about praying?
2 – Do we let folks know about our needs? That requires transparency, but the Scripture declares that it is worth it.
What do I need? I need three things – 1) In these difficult times I need the boldness that Paul asks for. 2) I am desperate for the wisdom of God to lead through these rough waters. 3) As we keep reaching out to our community, I would ask for the strength and energy to meet the need.
Paul asked for prayer. He shared his need. We should do the same. We need it too. Then, let’s pray for one another!
Something to think about,
Pastor John
Calvary Baptist Church - 