I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth (I Timothy 2:1-4).
John Maxwell suggests the following things that you can pray for leaders and pastors. Please pray for me.
Personal Needs
Personal Needs
- HUMILITY: Ask God to give your leader true humility, which includes having a servant’s heart, being teachable, admitting wrongdoing, being willing to receive positive criticism, and reliance on God.
- WISDOM TO KNOW GOD S AGENDA: Effective leaders function according to God s agenda, not their own. Pray that your leader remains sensitive to God s leading, and that he will live and work according to God s priorities.
- POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS: Ask God to help your leader be patient with himself and others, to interact positively with difficult people in the congregation, and to treat everyone with love and respect.
- THE TRUTH OF THE SPIRIT: Every Christian should seek to live a Spirit-filled life. Pray that your leader would have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
- HEALTH: Ask God to give your leader good health and safety when he or she travels.
Family Needs
- THE PRIORITY OF THE FAMILY: The demands of ministry can severely damage a Christian leader s family life. Pray that your church leader would make family his top priority, second only to his relationship with God. Pray that he would spend enough time with them, and minister to their needs first. If your leader has children, pray that they would love God with all their hearts.
- PROVISION FOR THE FAMILY: Ask God to meet the needs of your leader and to show the lay leadership in the church how they can better provide for them.
Spiritual Needs
- TIME ALONE WITH GOD: Ask God to make prayer, Scripture reading, and worship daily priorities in your leader s life.
- ANOINTING: Without the power of the Holy Spirit, a leader can do nothing of value.
- INTEGRITY: Your leader struggles with temptation just like any other person. In fact, the enemy will try to tempt him more than others. Satan knows that when he hurts the leader, the followers suffer.
- PROTECTION FROM SPIRITUAL WARFARE: Pray that your leader would put on the full armor of God, as outlined in Ephesians 6:10-18, and that he will be given protection from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16).
- ACCOUNTABILITY: Ask God to bring into your leader s life other Christian leaders who can keep him accountable.
Congregational Needs
- EVANGELISM: Pray that your leader will have a heart for the lost and that he will make evangelism a priority.
- PERSONAL GROWTH: A pastor who continues to grow in his spiritual life and his ability to lead is being equipped to help his people grow and develop.
- MOBILIZATION OF THE LAITY: Ask God to make your leader an effective motivator and equipper of the people to do the work of the ministry.
- INTERCESSION: Pray that your leader would make intercession for the people a daily priority.
Where the leader goes, the people will follow. James 3:1 says, Not many of you should presume to be teacher, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. I believe God will judge leaders by a higher standard because what they do affects so many other people.
Never underestimate the power of prayer for a leader. If you begin praying for your leader today, there is no telling what may happen to your city, state, country or world - not to mention your church.
Never underestimate the power of prayer for a leader. If you begin praying for your leader today, there is no telling what may happen to your city, state, country or world - not to mention your church.
