5 ways to pray for your pastors

I have the great privilege of attending one of the larger churches in my state, which means I have access to a whole bunch of amazingly gifted, spiritually strong leaders (and they’re pretty fun to be around, too!).  It also means that my church gets a lot of press, gratefully all for good reasons.

But we’ve all heard the stories of highly regarded pastors, usually of large and influential churches, who lost their ministries because they or a family member sinned publicly.  We’ve heard stories of pastors’ reputations being ruined and their ministries dissolved because of some sort of scandal.

Have you ever wondered “How could this happen to [name that fallen pastor]?” The answer is simple: Satan doesn’t like strong, Bible-believing, Bible-preaching pastors.

So, in honor of Pastor Appreciation Month, I submit the following 5 ways you can pray for your pastors.  And trust me, your pastors need all the prayer they can get!

• Pray for their marriages

So many pastors have been taken down because they got involved in affairs.  And pastors’ spouses have a tough job, what with constantly being in the spotlight, sacrificing time with their spouses because of church commitments, and being subject to way more criticism than they deserve.  Pray that God will protect your pastors’ marriages, and that your pastors and their spouses would honor the sanctity of their marriages.

•  Pray for their children

You know what’s harder than being a pastor’s spouse? Being a pastor’s kid.  Pray for your pastors’ children!

• Pray for their friendships

It’s surprisingly hard for pastors to find good friends.  They spend so much time at their jobs (yes, church is their job), and most candidates for friendship are actually congregants (think, “clients”).  That can make it difficult to form good friendships, but just like you and me, pastors need good strong friendships.  So pray that God will bless your pastors’ friendships, and surround them with a good circle of true friends who can keep them accountable, share their joys and their struggles, and allow them to be themselves.

• Pray for their spiritual protection

Remember what I said before about how Satan feels about good pastors? Yeah. This one’s pretty self-explanatory

• Pray for their mental and emotional health

This may come as a surprise to some people, but pastors are people too. And because they are in high-profile, high-stress occupations with near-impossible standards of “success” (no matter what they do on Sunday, someone is going to complain on Monday morning), they too are subject to depression, anxiety and the like. Pray that God will protect their minds and their hearts.

Pray for your pastors regularly.  Let them know that you’re praying for them.  They need that encouragement, and they need you to stand with them and to bring them to the throne of God regularly. And once in a while, take the time to write them a note to let them know how much you appreciate them as individuals and as leaders.  They’ll like that. : )

What would you add to this list?

Where I am going. What I will do.

A few days after I wrote my last post, I had a meeting that set the course of my life for the foreseeable future.  You see, a couple of years ago, I learned that there are approximately 27 million slaves in the world right now (and that number was actually upgraded this week).  That’s 27 million people who get up and go to work every day (and by every day, I mean every day!), but don’t get paid for the work they do.  That’s 27 million people working in brick factories, sweat shops, and brothels.  Those are men with wives and children, women sold by their families to try to pay off debts and children either born into that life, or kidnapped and forced into it.

Two years ago, this knowledge broke my heart and I asked God to allow me to help Him set them free.  Eight months ago, I took the first step toward that end and went to the Justice Conference.  There I learned practical ways I can fight against slavery, exploitation and human trafficking.  Ways like taking the time to research the products I buy most often.  Are they made with slave labor?  Do they support fair trade?  Does this hotel have a policy protecting its clients from trafficking?

But I wanted to do more.

I heard about an organization in my own county that is working to end sex trafficking of children right here in my own backyard (yes, here in the US!).  Their mission is to end sex trafficking through parallel efforts in prevention and restoration.  Their goal is to open a restoration home for rescued girls ages 10-18, and to help them get back what Satan has stolen from them.

I met up with them briefly at the Justice Conference and promised to keep in touch.  I did, and a little over a week ago, I agreed to join them in their fight and join their staff.

Going forward, I’ll be working to educate teachers, parents, policy makers, law enforcement officials, children and teenagers in my area about the methods, signs and dangers of sex trafficking.  I’ll be teaching them how to protect themselves, their families and others from this evil.  I’ll be telling them how to stay safe on social media, how pornography feeds into sex trafficking, and that there is hope for survivors.

I’m so excited about where God has placed me for this season, and I can’t wait to see what He does in this area through me and through my new friends.  I can’t wait to hear about lives saved, about new people joining the fight and about more protection for survivors.  I can’t wait to see lives redeemed through the love of Christ.

But as I start on this new journey, I know that I can’t do this on my own.

I need to lean on God’s strength because this fight is so much bigger than me.

I need God’s words to speak into the lives of decision makers, survivors, and fellow fighters.

I need God’s grace and forgiveness for the perpetrators.

I need God’s provision for my material needs because right now, this position I have taken is not a paid position (see Bullet #2 below).

I need others to join with me in prayer for our staff, for our volunteers, and for the survivors God will bring to our door.

Will you join me?  If you’re willing, would you please pray for the following?

• Pray for me as I prepare to speak at our Summit next week.  Pray that God will give me and the other speakers His words for His people.
• Pray that the IRS will approve our 501(c)3 application quickly so that we can start taking donations toward the home, our programs and to support our staff. (We’ve been waiting since December, 2012!!)
• Pray for opportunities to educate others about sex trafficking so that we can protect potential victims, prevent potential perpetrators and provide more workers in the field.

Thank you for the work you’re already doing for the Kingdom, and thank you for praying for me in my new assignment!

Where am I going? What will I do?

Well, it’s official: I’m no longer a student.  After two and a half years of reading, writing and a bit of arithmetic, I have turned in my last paper, and both literally and figuratively closed the book on another chapter of my life.

I mentioned the other day on Twitter that I am now, not only no longer a student, but also unemployed for the second time in my adult life.  My Twitter friend Patty wrote back and asked “Where are you going? What will you do?” to which I responded that those were two pretty relevant questions for which I had no answers.  (She then proceeded to write a pretty awesome post about her own experience with the same two questions recently. Check it out!)

I’m not the first person to sit answerless before those two questions, and I certainly won’t be the last.  And I’m pretty confident in saying that at some point in your life, you too have sat at the feet of these questions, waiting for their answers to be revealed to you.

Abraham found himself in a similar position rather late in life when God suddenly told him to leave his home country and set out toward The Land To Be Determined Later:

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” ~ Genesis 12:1

If I were Abraham, I think I’d have a few questions.  Questions like:

• Where am I going?
• What will I do?
• How many pairs of shoes should I pack?
• Do I need a bathing suit?
• Should I take a flashlight?
• Can I bring a friend?

Do you know how many of those questions Abraham asked? None of them. Zero. Not a single question.  Maybe it’s a guy thing?  Or maybe Abraham, in his two-minute long relationship with the God Who Provides, decided to simply trust and obey. (And now you’ll have that song stuck in your head. You’re welcome.)  This is Abraham’s incredible response:

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him. ~ Genesis 12:4a

I’ve been reading a fantastic book on the life of Abraham, and I think I re-read this particular section about 27 times.  Abraham’s willingness to get up and go when God gave the order floors me, convicts me and humbles me.  I have never once just done what I knew God was telling me to do.  I prayed about it.  I talked to other people about it.  I made pros and cons lists about it.

But I don’t want to do that anymore.  I want to know with absolute certainty that when I experience peace that passes my own flawed understanding, it is the voice of my God telling me to go.

I’m not there yet, but I’m getting closer every day.  Every day I choose to sit and talk to my Father and read His Word with more intention and curiosity, I get closer to knowing His heart and His will.

So I choose to pray.  I choose to read.  I choose to worship.  And someday soon, I hope, when God says “go”, I will choose trust, I will choose confidence and I will choose obedience.

What do you do when you suspect God is telling you to do something?  Does your approach need to change?  Tell us about it.