Your Pastor Needs Your Prayer This Weekend

O for more people to pray fervently and effectively for their pastor before each Lord's Day. As we approach Easter Sunday, I offer this suggestion to pray for your pastor as he prepares for the most important Christian holiday of the year.

Dear almighty heavenly Father,

I come to you as the all-sufficient, all-mighty, all-wise God, maker of heaven and earth, giver and sustainer of all life, and eternal God of all creation.

On behalf of my pastor who will stand behind the pulpit this Easter, I ask you to hear my prayer.

Every week we gather on the Lord's Day as a reflection of Christ's resurrection on the first day of the week. Yet this coming Lord's Day is the particular day our nation has set aside to remember and reflect on that solemn and glorious day. Help us to honor the Lord's Day.

May your ambassador not shy away from proclaiming the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as risen Savior, glorious Lord, and eternal Son of God.

Give him a heart that is pure and right and free from vain-glory. May he preach to the few with the urgency and excitement he would have before the many.

Give him a mouth that is open and free to boldly proclaim the truth of your most holy Word. Keep him from saying what he ought not; give him wisdom to say what he ought.

Give him a humble reliance upon you, for he has no power in himself to change hearts. May his hope and his confidence be in you alone.

Give him a solemn joy to preach the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. May he not proclaim a cheap, frivolous, or trite gospel; may he describe your truth with the weight and solemnity that it demands. Yet use his individual personality and experiences in the process.

Give him a contented spirit, no matter who does or does not attend, no matter how many or how few hear the message, and no matter how few, if any, believe the gospel and are saved.

May this Resurrection Sunday be one of joy, of gladness, of exuberance, of reverence, and of glorious worship. May your glory be his ultimate goal, your Son his main theme, your Word his authoritative text, and your pleasure his chief desire.

Grant healthy voices, clear minds, and humble hearts to your servant, my pastor.

I pray this as I believe it is in keeping with the will and purposes of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Amen.