Who Is Praying for You?

Do you believe in prayer? If you are a pastor or in any kind of leadership role in a Christian ministry, I certainly hope your answer is “yes.” But I will ask again: do you really believe in prayer? If so, who is praying for you? Let me clarify my second question. I’m not talking about someone who makes a generic request for your wisdom or protection when you ask them to pray at the start of a meeting. Or the prayer in a worship service asking God to guide and bless the pastor and staff. There’s nothing wrong with these prayers; they’re just not enough. For someone to truly pray for you, they need to know what to pray for. That means you must be willing to share your challenges and struggles with them along with your praises. It requires someone that you trust deeply. It calls for a relationship that goes beyond superficial conversations or once-a-year deep dives. It’s ironic that those who emphasize the importance of pray as they lead churches and ministries often have very little prayer support. I’ve heard many of the reasons: you don’t want to burden others with your needs, you don’t have the time to develop those kinds of deeper relationships, you’re worried that a confidential request will become public. And while I recognize the truth in these statements, I also understand a deeper truth. Leadership is demanding, and we simply can’t lead well if we don’t have others praying for us. So why not act on your belief in prayer. Ask one person to be a regular prayer partner, or enlist a small team to pray specifically for you. That little step could make a big difference in your life and your ministry. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>