“If Paul and the other disciples needed prayer, how much more so do those who lead, shepherd, and oversee us in the church! And they need our prayers, not just when there is controversy in the church. Not just when they are ill.”

The warning in the book of James to teachers is sobering, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (3:1). Some of that “greater strictness” is seen in the responses of church members and the greater community to a teacher’s sin. These days, it seems like the whole world leans in to watch and remark about a church leader’s fall from grace. When a church leader or pastor falls into sin, we hear about it instantly and read about it over and over on social media. We shake our heads in sadness and think, “Not again.” We discuss among ourselves how such sin could have been prevented, how the church should respond, and may even secretly wonder about the leaders of our own church—will they too stumble into sin?

Paul asked the church in Thessalonica to pray for him and his fellow workers (1 Thessalonians 5:25). To the church in Colossae, he wrote, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak” (4:2-4).The writer to the Hebrews, after calling them to obey their leaders and submit to them (3:17), wrote “Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things” (verse 18).

Prayer is one of the main disciplines of the Christian faith. It is a means which God uses to carry out his will. In prayer, we are drawn into deeper dependence upon God and learn more and more of our need for him and his grace. James tells us, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (5:16). Not only that, Scripture commands us to pray. And as we’ve seen, the apostles asked the church to pray for their ministry.

If Paul and the other disciples needed prayer, how much more so do those who lead, shepherd, and oversee us in the church! And they need our prayers, not just when there is controversy in the church. Not just when they are ill. Not just when there is a budget shortfall or a search is on for a new pastor. But all the time. We need to be in regular prayer for our pastors, elders, deacons, and their families. As Matthew Henry noted regarding Hebrews 3:18, “The more earnestly the people pray for their ministers, the more benefit they may expect from their ministry.” The more we pray for our church leaders, the more we can expect God to use our churches to impact the Kingdom for the gospel.

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