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His
family is just as important as your family. Pray for a balance
between his ministry and his family life. There is such demand
upon pastors to minister to their congregations, and zeal to
serve God in ministry, that family life can become a challenge.
The enemy enjoys destroying families in this manner, because
it may weaken the ministry opportunities for most pastors. Don’t
stand for this vile scheme of the enemy
to disrupt the ministry your pastor and his family has for you.
Protect your pastor and his family in prayer. Just as the pastor is a blessing
to his flock, so is his family. Oh what hidden treasure and
value his family is to the flock. In addition to the Lord, his
family is another source of support and encouragement for him.
When his day is over at the church office, ministry doesn’t
end. It then becomes time for him to shift gears from
pastor to husband and dad of his family. Don’t
place the entire burden on him to grow the church and win souls
for Christ. This is a terrible mistake most congregations and
ministries make toward their pastor. Ministry is a joint effort.
You may not be able to preach, but you sure can pray. First Corinthians 12:4-5 says, "Now
there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there
are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord." This clearly
illustrates that everyone has a vital part in the work of the
Lord. Every aspect of ministry should be
undergirded in prayer. In Pray for authentic relationships with other pastors (Philippians 2:19-25) "Now it came about when
he had finished speaking to Saul, that
the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan
loved him as himself. Saul took him that day and did not let
him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant
with David because he loved him as himself." (1 Samuel 18:1-3) Does
your pastor have meaningful and authentic relationships with
other pastors? Perhaps this is difficult for you to know, because
he may not have spoken of personal life. It is not important
that you know too much of his personal matters, but it is important
that you pray about them. You need not worry about what to pray
for the Holy Spirit will reveal to you what concerns the Father
most about your pastor. In
addition to Jesus and family, everyone needs a fellow believer
to fellowship with. Christian friendship and fellowship is one
reason the church was established. Authentic pastoral relationships
will help your pastor to deal with situations and circumstances
that cannot and should not be shared with other laypersons.
In a case like that, the confidentiality of those parties involved
is very important. On the other hand, he may just need someone
he can trust to share his deepest and innermost thoughts. Then
there are other times when he will need someone close to him
to intercede on his behalf. Jonathan and David both illustrated
this principle of intercession in 1 Samuel 19:1-7 and 2 Samuel 1:12-27. Only in close genuine and
authentic friendships will pastors find this level of concern
for one another, as David and Jonathan expressed for one another.
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