Some time ago I watched a Q & A session between pastors. One question centered on leaving a particular church over doctrinal error. I thought the advice was very good. Yet I was surprised no one suggested praying for their pastors. I’m sure they thought it was a given.
Praying for pastors and churches ought to be a regular focus in our prayer lives. Spiritual warfare is a daily reality. As I’ve written in the past, Satan loves to go to church. Yet, at times, I’m guilty of neglect in this area!
There has always been a battle raging between Satan and God’s Church. We expect satanic opposition through the secular world, and the battle regularly overflows into churches. Pastors in Western Churches today are coming under great pressure to conform to societal demands, thus compromising God’s Word.
Spurgeon constantly dealt with similar pressures, especially during the Downgrade Controversy. In his book The Forgotten Spurgeon, Iain Murray notes Spurgeon’s craving for personal prayer for himself:
Some of the most solemn warnings Spurgeon ever gave his congregation were of the danger of their ceasing to be dependent upon God in prayer. ‘May God help me, if you cease to pray for me! Let me know the day and I must cease to preach. Let me know when you intend to cease your prayers and I will cry, “O my God, give me this day my tomb, and let me slumber in the dust.”…
‘If there were only one prayer which I might pray before I died, it should be this: “Lord, send thy Church men filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire.”
Murray goes on to write that Spurgeon “believed that without the Spirit of God nothing could be done.”
Interestingly, I’d already decided to write on this topic early in the weekend. When I attended communion on the Sunday night, the pastor announced that he’d been invited to a Radio Program discussion. He was to share a platform with a Muslim and a Jew, and so asked for prayers that he might be used to declare the uncompromising gospel of grace.
One more thing: not only should we be praying for our pastors, but also for their wives and families. Pastors have family obligations too. I can’t imagine the pressures pastors and their families face at times. We can all ponder this for a moment.
So, let’s not forget the pastors and their families in our daily prayers!
Further reading:
9 Ways To Pray Like Charles Spurgeon
Matthew Henry on the Method of Prayer
Sharing is caring!
