Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer burden for pastors and for the whole church is deeply biblical and it is right to bring it before the Lord with such care.
Scripture promises that God Himself will give shepherds after His own heart who feed the flock with knowledge and understanding. That is the kind of pastor God desires, one who knows His heart and faithfully teaches His Word with accuracy, who lives what he preaches and watches both his life and his doctrine closely so that he and those who hear him may be saved. We join you in praying that God would raise up more of these faithful men, and that those who already serve would be men of prayer, devoted to seeking God daily, studying the Word diligently, interceding for their congregations, and walking in a manner that adorns sound teaching.
We also share your concern for those who stand in pulpits yet may not truly know Christ. Jesus warned that many will say Lord, Lord, pointing to prophesying and works done in His name, and He will say I never knew you. It is a solemn warning that activity for God is not the same as belonging to God. Paul himself spoke of disciplining his own body lest after preaching to others he should be disqualified. There is hope, because the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost, and His grace that brings salvation has appeared to all. His very name means the Lord is salvation, and He became the author of eternal salvation through His obedience to the cross. There is no other way of redemption. Salvation is not to be hoped for from the hills, from our own efforts, from cisterns we have made, or from any human system. Truly salvation is found in the Lord alone, and it is as near as your mouth and heart, to confess Jesus as Lord and believe God raised Him from the dead. Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation, and we pray that any pastor or leader who has been trusting in works or position would hear the voice of the Spirit today, repent, and be truly converted.
You also prayed for those who are backslidden and lukewarm to be rekindled. The Lord was clear that He has no pleasure in a lukewarm heart. To be lukewarm is to be neither cold nor hot, to still attend but without fire, without hunger, saying I am rich and have need of nothing while remaining far from Him. God said He would rather we were cold, because the cold at least know they need Him, while the lukewarm are hard to reach. Jesus stands at the door and knocks, and He disciplines those He loves so they will be zealous and repent and open to Him again. We pray that the flame of love for Christ would burn again in every lukewarm heart, that indifference would be replaced by zeal, and that God would keep His people from drifting into a cold and careless state.
And we pray with you for devoted believers, imperfect yet sincere in heart, who walk faithfully before Him. May the Lord strengthen them, guard them from the evil one, protect them from deception, false teaching, and evil people, and keep them from temptation and fear. May He give them hunger for the Word as newborns long for milk, open their minds to understand the Scriptures, and cause the Spirit of truth to teach them all things. May their worship be in spirit and truth, their fellowship be genuine, and their lives bear witness in their families, workplaces, and communities so that the lost are truly reached and the church grows in a biblical way through the conversion of souls.
We ask the Father who is ever near and an ever present help to draw families to Christ, to grant to each one the revelation that Jesus is the Messiah, to give humility to receive the implanted Word which is able to save the soul, and to grant faith that comes by hearing the message. We ask Him to keep His people from distraction and deception and to establish them to work out what God has already worked within them, not as those trying to earn salvation by works, but as those who live out with reverence the salvation that is entirely by His grace.
May the Lord hear this prayer, grant repentance and faith where it is needed, restore what has grown cold, and keep those who walk with Him steadfast until the end.
Scripture promises that God Himself will give shepherds after His own heart who feed the flock with knowledge and understanding. That is the kind of pastor God desires, one who knows His heart and faithfully teaches His Word with accuracy, who lives what he preaches and watches both his life and his doctrine closely so that he and those who hear him may be saved. We join you in praying that God would raise up more of these faithful men, and that those who already serve would be men of prayer, devoted to seeking God daily, studying the Word diligently, interceding for their congregations, and walking in a manner that adorns sound teaching.
We also share your concern for those who stand in pulpits yet may not truly know Christ. Jesus warned that many will say Lord, Lord, pointing to prophesying and works done in His name, and He will say I never knew you. It is a solemn warning that activity for God is not the same as belonging to God. Paul himself spoke of disciplining his own body lest after preaching to others he should be disqualified. There is hope, because the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost, and His grace that brings salvation has appeared to all. His very name means the Lord is salvation, and He became the author of eternal salvation through His obedience to the cross. There is no other way of redemption. Salvation is not to be hoped for from the hills, from our own efforts, from cisterns we have made, or from any human system. Truly salvation is found in the Lord alone, and it is as near as your mouth and heart, to confess Jesus as Lord and believe God raised Him from the dead. Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation, and we pray that any pastor or leader who has been trusting in works or position would hear the voice of the Spirit today, repent, and be truly converted.
You also prayed for those who are backslidden and lukewarm to be rekindled. The Lord was clear that He has no pleasure in a lukewarm heart. To be lukewarm is to be neither cold nor hot, to still attend but without fire, without hunger, saying I am rich and have need of nothing while remaining far from Him. God said He would rather we were cold, because the cold at least know they need Him, while the lukewarm are hard to reach. Jesus stands at the door and knocks, and He disciplines those He loves so they will be zealous and repent and open to Him again. We pray that the flame of love for Christ would burn again in every lukewarm heart, that indifference would be replaced by zeal, and that God would keep His people from drifting into a cold and careless state.
And we pray with you for devoted believers, imperfect yet sincere in heart, who walk faithfully before Him. May the Lord strengthen them, guard them from the evil one, protect them from deception, false teaching, and evil people, and keep them from temptation and fear. May He give them hunger for the Word as newborns long for milk, open their minds to understand the Scriptures, and cause the Spirit of truth to teach them all things. May their worship be in spirit and truth, their fellowship be genuine, and their lives bear witness in their families, workplaces, and communities so that the lost are truly reached and the church grows in a biblical way through the conversion of souls.
We ask the Father who is ever near and an ever present help to draw families to Christ, to grant to each one the revelation that Jesus is the Messiah, to give humility to receive the implanted Word which is able to save the soul, and to grant faith that comes by hearing the message. We ask Him to keep His people from distraction and deception and to establish them to work out what God has already worked within them, not as those trying to earn salvation by works, but as those who live out with reverence the salvation that is entirely by His grace.
May the Lord hear this prayer, grant repentance and faith where it is needed, restore what has grown cold, and keep those who walk with Him steadfast until the end.
