Praying the Scriptures: Prayers for Your Pastor

I’m convinced that one of the most under appreciated groups of people are godly pastors.

They give…

and give…

and give some more.

They cry with us.

They celebrate with us.

They counsel us and pray with us and preach to us.

Their hearts break over the destruction wreaked by sin.

They rejoice over souls saved, marriages restored,.and spirits revived.

They invest long hours and sacrifice much for the Kingdom.

And for us.

Christ’s Church.

I don’t know about you, but I think the least we can do is pray for them.

And maybe even to follow up with quick note letting them know that we appreciate them, and that we’ve lifted them to the Lord.

Some congregations have a single pastor, others a pastoral team, still others elders or deacons.

Praying for our church leadership is so important in these days, friends.

Let’s be faithful.

Please join me in praying the Scriptures for your pastor.

Prayers for Your Pastor and Church Leadership

Lift to the Father your pastor’s relationship with Him. Pray that God would make known to him the path of life and the fullness of joy found in His presence. (Psalm 16:11). Ask God to teach your pastor to call to Him, and then remind God of His promise to answer him and tell him great and hidden things (Jeremiah 33:3). Pray that the Lord would draw your pastor into His Word, opening his eyes to behold wondrous things there (Psalm 119:18).

Pray that God would grant your pastor an awareness that he is dead to the law, so that he might live to God. Pray that he would know he has been crucified with Christ, and that it is no longer he who lives, but Christ who lives in him. Ask that the life your pastor now lives in the flesh he would live by faith in the Son of God, who loved him and gave Himself for him. Ask God to help your pastor continue in God’s grace in his life and his ministry (Galatians 2:19-21).

Implore the Lord to help your pastor proclaim the kingdom of God and teach about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance (Acts 28:31).

Ask for the Lord’s protection over your pastor’s family. Claim the Lord’s faithfulness on their behalf, asking Him to establish them and guard them against the evil one (2 Thessalonians 3:3). Pray for him to be a godly and attentive husband and father.

Claim these promises from God on behalf of your pastor: “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows My name. When he calls to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation” (Psalm 91:14-16).

Acknowledge to the Lord that where there is no prophetic vision the people perish (Proverbs 29:18). Pray that your pastor would seek God’s vision for your local church, for your community, for our nation, and for the world.

Pray that your pastor would be strong and courageous, not afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God is with him wherever he goes. (Joshua 1:9) Thank God for promising to go before him and to be with him, never leaving him or forsaking him. Pray that this truth would encourage your pastor’s heart (Deuteronomy 31:8).

Pray that his love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that he may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:9-10). Ask the Lord to grant wisdom to your pastor.

Ask that God would help your pastor have sensitivity to sin in his life, being quick to confess and forsake it. Claim God’s promised blessing upon one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered by Christ’s blood. Pray that your pastor would never hesitate to acknowledge his sin to God, but would uncover his iniquity by making confession, thereby receiving forgiveness (Psalm 32:1-5).

Pray that your pastor would never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to him, and he to the world (Galatians 6:14). Just as your pastor was approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, pray that he would speak accordingly, not to please man, but to please God who tests his heart (I Thessalonians 2:4). Ask God to keep your pastor from pride, from having a personal agenda, and from seeking the approval of men more than God.

Dear Heavenly Father, how good You are to provide us with pastors to shepherd us and lead us in Your ways. Thank you so much for the church leadership You have established over my congregation. I ask that You would bless them and keep them, and that Your face would shine upon them and give them peace. Please help me to be a source of support and encouragement to these godly men, that You might be glorified in Your Church. It’s in the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, that I pray. Amen.