This past Christmas a good friend of mine gave me The Lutheran Book of Prayer published in 1951. It is a wonderful resource for morning and evening petitions, as well as prayers for special occasions and special people. Yesterday I found a lovely one entitled "For the Ministers of the Word." I would like to share this with you."Lord Jesus, divine Savior and Helper, You have established in Your Church the office of the holy ministry that Your Word may be preached and the Sacraments administered to the salvation of immortal souls. I pray that You grant to Your ministers wisdom and strength and faithfulness in the performance of the many duties of their holy calling. Make them fearless witnesses of Your truth, instant in season and out of season. Keep them from error and deceptions. Make their preaching effective, their admonition sympathetic, and instructions lucid. Grant that they be patient toward the weak, helpful toward the distressed, loving toward the erring. Give them strength to walk in the way of Your Commandments and to be an example of Christian living to all men. May Your church through their work be established far and wide. Give to the members of our congregations grace to honor their pastors and gladly accept from them the divine Word and instruction. Keep them and us hearers faithful unto death, and give us in the end a crown of life. In Your name I ask it. Amen."
I hope this helps you to pray for your individual pastors wherever they may be. We should consider this privilege of praying for our ministers as a duty and a delight. Let us lift them daily to the throne of grace, confident that the blessings of God upon our pastors will result in blessings of God upon us as well.
What a wonderful reminder for us, Christ's church(s) to pray for our Pastor(s). They need renewal in spirit and hearts that are refreshed by our Living, loving God, our Renewer, Refresher, Rewarder, Restorer. I found just such a prayer in a book of prayers I keep in my possession, "The Valley of Vision" A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions. It is a Preachers prayer but also one we can pray for our Pastor(s)simply by replacing the me's & I's with our Pastor's own name.
ReplyDeleteA Ministers Preaching;
"My Master God, I am desired to preach today, but go weak and needy to my task; Yet I long that people might be edified with divine truth,, that an honest testimony might be borne for thee; Give me assistance in preaching and prayer, with heart uplifted for grace and unction (religious fervor, effectivness in speech or manner). Present to my view things pertinent to my subject, with fullness of matter and clarity of thought, proper expressions, fluency, fervency, a feeling sense of the things I preach, and grace to apply them to men's consciences. Keep me conscious all the while of my defects, and let me not gloat in pride over my performance. Help me to offer a testimony for thyself, and to leave sinners inexcusable in neglecting thy mercy. Give me freedom to open the sorrows of thy people, and to set before them comforting considerations. Attend with power the truth preached, and awaken the attention of my slothful audience. May thy people be refreshed, melted, convicted, comforted, and help me to use the strongest arguments drawn from Christ's incarnation and sufferings, that men might be made holy. I myself need thy support, comfort, strength, holiness, that I might be a pure channel of thy grace, and be able to do something for thee; Give me then refreshment among thy people, and help me not to treat excellent matter in a defective way, or bear a broken testimony to so worthy a redeemer, or be harsh in treating of Christ's death, its design and end, from lack of warmth and fervency. And keep me in tune with thee as I do this work." Amen!
Jesus teaches us in Luke 12:48 "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Now that's a good reason to pray for our Pastor's as they have been given much! DS