Practical Prayers for Your Pastor

By  Dan Reiland

Nothing shapes
the outcomes of your church more than prayer. The longer I lead, the more I
understand and appreciate the prayers of faithful intercessors.

Your pastors
(and church staff) are prime targets for spiritual attack. The enemy uses a lot
of schemes to ensure everything from temptation to discouragement. If he can
get to your pastors and church leaders—and even take them out—he can hurt the
whole church.

Your prayers
can and will make a difference.

Develop
Prayer Rhythms

You can pray
for your pastors daily, once a week, or every time the Holy Spirit prompts you.
All prayer rhythms are good. Here is a practical plan:

1. Pray for God’s favor. God has given
your pastors gifts, abilities, energy, and passion to accomplish the work of
ministry. However, without God’s power there are no eternal results.

• Ministry has
always been a divine partnership. Your pastors do their part, and God does His
part. Pray for that partnership.

• Ask God for
an anointing on them. Pray for favor, the power of the Holy Spirit, and
specifically for the salvation of many people!

2. Pray for spiritual vitality. Your pastors
are not superhuman. They need to tend to their spiritual growth on a consistent
basis. Imagine a good campfire: no matter how big the fire blazes, in time it
will go out. The same is true within leaders’ souls. They need a rekindling of
the fire.

• Pray that
their love of God and relationship with Jesus will remain close, real, and
fresh.

• Pray that
they will have a white-hot heart for lost people. Ask God to give them timely
biblical insights.

• Pray that the
Holy Spirit will stir within them a passion for prayer and that they will hear
God’s voice.

3.
Pray for leadership. Great
pastors love their people and are good shepherds of their congregations. They
also need to be great leaders to sustain a growing and healthy church.I believe that—next to the favor of
God—everything rises and falls on leadership.

• Pray that
your pastors are not only open to growing as leaders but committed to that
growth.

• Ask God to
give them strength of character, wisdom in decision-making, and passion in
preaching.

• Pray that God
will grant your pastors clear and inspiring vision, along with the direction
and strategy to achieve that vision.

4. Pray for their families. I’ve learned
that when things are not going well at home, it’s very difficult to lead at
church.If Patti and I argue, I can
barely think straight until we resolve it and are in good relationship again.
We’ve been married 37 years and have learned much through experience and
maturity, but the commitment required to maintain a good home life is still
significant.

• Pray for the
spouse and children of each pastor. Ask God to help them experience a deep and
abiding love for each other. Pray for peace at home and protection from
spiritual attack.

• ray that the
fruit of the Spirit will permeate their homes: love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

• Pray that
their homes are filled with laughter.

5. Pray for physical health. Poor health can
limit the life and leadership of your pastors. I’m not a fitness nut, but I do
care about the physical well-being of spiritual leaders.Your pastors may think they don’t have time to exercise or
practice preventative medicine. I do understand. But you can pray about this
for them!God can intervene, and the
Holy Spirit can speak to them about taking care of their physical health.

    • Ask God to give your pastors stamina,
energy, clear thinking, and strength.

• Pray for
God’s physical protection over them.

• As you pray
for your pastors, pray in faith according to Jesus’ words in John 14:12–14: “.
. . whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will
do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will
do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

Your prayers
for your pastors will help prosper your church. 

DAN REILAND is the executive pastor at 12Stone Church in
Lawrenceville, GA. He previously partnered with John Maxwell for 20 years,
first as executive pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, CA, then as
vice president of Leadership and Church Development at INJOY.