Silas
Beloved of All
Your burden for pastors and for the church is a right and biblical burden, and it is good that you are bringing it to the Lord in prayer.
Scripture says that God will give pastors according to His own heart who will feed the people with knowledge and understanding. That is the kind of shepherd God desires and the kind we should pray for, men who will faithfully teach the Word with accuracy and who will seek God themselves in prayer, in daily devotion, and in a life that matches what they preach. A true shepherd feeds the flock. A hireling only uses the flock. When shepherds fail and transgress, the people suffer, for if the light that should guide becomes darkness, how great is that darkness.
This is why prayer for leaders is so urgent. When the enemy can ensnare a pastor, the hurt spreads through an entire congregation and many are wounded. The apostle Paul asked for prayer for himself, and every pastor today needs that same prayer, that he would be strengthened with might by the Spirit in the inner man, that he would be kept from deception and temptation and from the snare of the devil, and that he would be kept from the evil one as Jesus prayed in John 17.
Your prayer also touches on those who may be lost, backslidden, or lukewarm, and Scripture speaks very directly to this. There can be a surface revival that looks like a turning to God but does not go deep into the heart. In the days of Josiah the nation appeared to return to the Lord because the king did what was right and tore down idols, yet God said they had not returned with their whole heart, and as soon as the king was gone they went right back to their idols. God looks on the heart, not just outward appearance.
The same warning is given to the church in Laodicea. They were neither hot nor cold but lukewarm, still going through religious forms but not on fire for the Lord, and they thought they were rich and in need of nothing while in truth they were poor. Jesus said He would spew the lukewarm out of His mouth. He would rather we be cold, where we know our need and can be reached, than lukewarm where we deceive ourselves and say we are fine. That is why the call of Revelation 3 is to be zealous and repent and open the door to Him.
Yet even when pastors and people have failed, God still pleads with them. He says, I will yet plead with you and with your children. His will is that none should perish but that all should come to repentance, and Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. There is hope for the lost pastor who may have never truly known the Lord, as Matthew 7 warns that many will say Lord, Lord and yet never knew Him, and there is hope for the backslidden and the lukewarm to be rekindled in love. James tells us that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death.
So continue to pray as you are praying. Pray for hunger for the Word, for the Spirit to give revelation and understanding of the Scriptures, for faith that comes by hearing the Word, for a true spirit of worship in truth, for love for the fellowship of believers and faithfulness in gathering together, for protection by His angels and deliverance from evil people and from the evil one, and for authentic growth that comes from the salvation of the lost rather than mere shifting of people. Pray that God would give vision and that His manifest presence would bring conviction of sin, repentance, forgiveness, and newness of life through Jesus Christ alone, for there is no other name by which we are saved.
May the Lord hear your prayers, guard your own heart from growing cold or lukewarm, and light a fresh fire of love for Him in you and in those shepherds and congregations you are lifting before Him.
Scripture says that God will give pastors according to His own heart who will feed the people with knowledge and understanding. That is the kind of shepherd God desires and the kind we should pray for, men who will faithfully teach the Word with accuracy and who will seek God themselves in prayer, in daily devotion, and in a life that matches what they preach. A true shepherd feeds the flock. A hireling only uses the flock. When shepherds fail and transgress, the people suffer, for if the light that should guide becomes darkness, how great is that darkness.
This is why prayer for leaders is so urgent. When the enemy can ensnare a pastor, the hurt spreads through an entire congregation and many are wounded. The apostle Paul asked for prayer for himself, and every pastor today needs that same prayer, that he would be strengthened with might by the Spirit in the inner man, that he would be kept from deception and temptation and from the snare of the devil, and that he would be kept from the evil one as Jesus prayed in John 17.
Your prayer also touches on those who may be lost, backslidden, or lukewarm, and Scripture speaks very directly to this. There can be a surface revival that looks like a turning to God but does not go deep into the heart. In the days of Josiah the nation appeared to return to the Lord because the king did what was right and tore down idols, yet God said they had not returned with their whole heart, and as soon as the king was gone they went right back to their idols. God looks on the heart, not just outward appearance.
The same warning is given to the church in Laodicea. They were neither hot nor cold but lukewarm, still going through religious forms but not on fire for the Lord, and they thought they were rich and in need of nothing while in truth they were poor. Jesus said He would spew the lukewarm out of His mouth. He would rather we be cold, where we know our need and can be reached, than lukewarm where we deceive ourselves and say we are fine. That is why the call of Revelation 3 is to be zealous and repent and open the door to Him.
Yet even when pastors and people have failed, God still pleads with them. He says, I will yet plead with you and with your children. His will is that none should perish but that all should come to repentance, and Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. There is hope for the lost pastor who may have never truly known the Lord, as Matthew 7 warns that many will say Lord, Lord and yet never knew Him, and there is hope for the backslidden and the lukewarm to be rekindled in love. James tells us that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death.
So continue to pray as you are praying. Pray for hunger for the Word, for the Spirit to give revelation and understanding of the Scriptures, for faith that comes by hearing the Word, for a true spirit of worship in truth, for love for the fellowship of believers and faithfulness in gathering together, for protection by His angels and deliverance from evil people and from the evil one, and for authentic growth that comes from the salvation of the lost rather than mere shifting of people. Pray that God would give vision and that His manifest presence would bring conviction of sin, repentance, forgiveness, and newness of life through Jesus Christ alone, for there is no other name by which we are saved.
May the Lord hear your prayers, guard your own heart from growing cold or lukewarm, and light a fresh fire of love for Him in you and in those shepherds and congregations you are lifting before Him.
