National "Pray for Your Pastor" Day

This is an adaption from a post I wrote for my church's website this last Friday. I realized that while my pastors can use prayer, there are many others (including some of my closest friends) who are also pastors which could use prayer. The Monday in August closest to the 15th is the day where our Nation is supposed to Pray for their pastors. You may not see it on a calendar, and, hopefully, you don't need a calendar to tell you to do it, but you definitely SHOULD do it. Prayer is something that perhaps we should understand better and do more, in general.

Now, churches often fall into some of the same traps as the culture in which they reside. The Pope grew out of the culture of Empires led by a single figurehead person. The American culture is one defined by the business-minded CEO being at the head of a corporation, and many churches fall into the trap of making the hired preacher the person who makes all the business decisions of a church. While that could start an entirely new line of thought, the role of a pastor is more important than making a decision about which color carpet or type of flowers should be in the sanctuary.

While those decisions are somewhat important and probably should be made prayerfully, they pale in comparison to the call of a pastor in Scripture. The command in Hebrews 13:18 to pray for our leaders comes immediately after a reason—they are watching after our souls, for which they will have to give an account. As if that is not enough of an encouragement, in 2 Corinthians 1:11, Colossians 4:3, and Ephesians 6:19 give direct commands to pray for leaders, each with separate potential benefits.

It's hard to not notice when you read the Faith Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11 that even the great men God has used (David, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses, et al) come with limitations and temptations. It is almost impossible to avoid seeing the failings of pastors around us in the world today. I even participated in a facebook discussion recently, where the specific trap of apathy was mentioned. Pastoring is a difficult task and comes with a great burden. We are encouraged to pray for and support them throughout Scripture.

If you need help with how you can pray for your pastor, here are some good ideas from Ligon Duncan. So, pray for all your pastors, especially those who diligently pray for you. You are blessed to have men so dedicated to praying for you, faithfully teaching the Word, studying, keeping themselves accountable, and keeping watch over your souls. So, join me in celebrating National "Pray for Your Pastor" Day! Not only did God command it, but it will help you personally. If God can help persevere our pastors, they will serve us better, and our lives will be forever benefited. Most of all, pray that they will heed the call of God, as they make decisions into the future of our church!