Craig T. Owens

Prayer is the lifeblood of any church.

Look in the New Testament letters and notice how often the apostles wrote out their prayers for their congregations. Such loving, heartfelt prayers! And notice as well how many times the apostles thanked the churches for their prayers, and even requested more prayers from them.

Robert Murray McCheyne wrote to a friend who was just being ordained as a pastor—

“Give yourself to prayer and the ministry of the Word. If you do not pray, God will probably lay you aside from your ministry, as He did me, to teach you to pray. Remember Luther’s maxim, ‘To have prayed well is to have studied well.’ Get your texts from God, your thoughts, your words. Carry the names of the little flock upon your breast like the High Priest. Wrestle for the unconverted.”

And to the congregation which would be shepherded by this newly ordained pastor, McCheyne wrote—

“Pray for your pastor. Pray for his body, that he may be kept strong and spared for many years. Pray for his soul, that he may be kept humble and holy, a burning and shining light. Pray for his ministry, that it may be abundantly blessed, that he may be anointed to preach good tidings.”

Pastor, learn to pray for your congregation, and for your ministry to your flock. And then teach your congregation to pray for you. For the whole church will be strengthened when both pastor and people are interceding for each other.