Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." John 10:24-30
I was reading in John today, and this particular cluster of verses stuck out to me. Jesus had just finished giving a sermon on the shepherd and his flock, and here were the people who had been listening, arguing with him, not believing him, and later on they decide to try stoning him for blasphemy. Can you imagine how frustrating that must have been for Jesus? He was speaking pretty plainly, but these people were not listening because they were focused on the rules and their own comfort.
It had me thinking about our pastor, and the other pastors we know. How often do we actually take the time to turn to God and pray for our pastors? Really. Every October we celebrate "Pastoral Appreciation" where we lavish them with gifts and words of appreciation, maybe a prayer for blessings upon them. But what about the other 11 months of the year? It is so important for us to pray for our church leaders. It may very well be our prayers that keep them away from temptation. Because I am certain those temptations are there. Think about it. You and I are normal, everyday Christians, and we are tempted often by the devil. Our pastors are responsible for a whole group of Christians- the church they are leading, and that puts a huge target on their back, and you know the devil is going to try absolutely everything he can think of to tempt that pastor into doing something they shouldn't. It's so important for us as lay people and ministry leaders to pray for the man or woman who has been charged with shepherding a flock.
A few weeks back, I heard someone speak and ask specifically how often we prayed for our pastors? And then he asked when the last time was that the Sunday morning message meant something specifically for us? This speaker then went on to say that when we do our job, and spend time in prayer for our pastor, that the pastor can then do his job and focus on what his message should be and can spend his time in prayer and meditation. The direct result of our prayers and intercession for our pastor is a message that we may have needed to hear. God hears our prayers and loves it when we spend time praying for our pastor. He will bless us for our diligence in prayer by showing the pastor what he needs to preach on. It's a win-win situation! We pray for our pastor and church leaders, so that they are blessed and can resist the many temptations that come along. And in turn, our pastor is able to spend more time with God, and do his job as our pastor.
Over the last week there has been a lot mentioned about praying for our leaders. We need to remember that praying for our leaders includes our spiritual leaders. We are in a time of questioning and seeking, and so many of our churches are wound up as tight as a top. We are in desperate need of prayers and intercession to keep these churches from exploding in a bad way. Where better than to start at the top-praying for the pastor and the leadership. God will hear our prayers and our cries. I pray that we are all filled with this sense of urgency to pray for our pastors, and I also pray that they Holy Spirit will keep me in tune- so that I'll know to pray when our pastor comes to mind.
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