Pastor’s Prayers

November 28, 2023

When I was actively pastoring our church, every Sunday I had to be ready to preach a sermon. You might think, “That’s no big deal; put together the equivalent of a short college term paper each week.” That part is true enough, but misses the major part of it all. Preaching a sermon is far different than giving a lecture or teaching a lesson. A sermon must find the sweet spot between the eternal Word of God and the immediate situation of the listener. That’s not an easy task.

When I was preaching weekly, I would literally get sick to my stomach on Sunday mornings, wondering if what I had prepared was what the people needed to hear from God, or whether what I had prepared was actually from God instead of myself. Every week, I reminded myself that someone in the congregation was nursing a broken heart, while someone else was desperately fighting an addiction, and still another needed to be challenged to live their faith more boldly. All that had to be wrapped in the Good News. Too many sermons are little more than good advice—Do this or that to have a better life. People can get good advice almost anywhere. The only place they’re going to hear the Good News is from the proclamation of the Word of God which tells us what God is doing, not what we ought to be doing.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had conversations with pastors who are navigating some pretty major issues in the lives of their church members. They are crying out to God for help, for wisdom, for the power of the Holy Spirit, and they are wondering, “Is this the right word for this people this week?” They are doing all this while feeling overwhelmed with the responsibility of shepherding their congregation, guarding them from society’s and Satan’s wolves who nip at the heels of their people. They are often tired and broken from dealing with their own sins as well as those of their people.

I’ve come away from these conversations grateful to be retired, but also reminded of how much I need to pray for pastors, to cover them with blessing, to listen to their stories, and walk with them through the valleys and rejoice with them when they are on the mountaintop. I am humbled by their integrity and diligence, even knowing they struggle with insecurity, anxiety, and the feeling of impotence in the face of problems that are bigger than they are, though not bigger than the God they proclaim. Please…pray for your pastor!