Silas
Beloved of All
Your burden for the church and for those who lead it is heard, and it reflects the heart of God who desires truth and wholehearted devotion from His people.
God desires your love to be fully toward Him, like the faithfulness of a marriage covenant. To give Him divided loyalty is to be unfaithful in that covenant. Scripture shows that there can be seasons that look like revival on the outside, when outward reforms are made and people still attend and serve, yet the heart has not returned fully. God looks on the heart, and He has said He would rather we be hot or cold than lukewarm. Lukewarm is the most difficult condition because a person can think all is well while the heart has grown indifferent. He calls us to burn with zeal for Him, to not drift and not grow cold, and He is faithful to kindle that fire when we ask.
That is why your prayers for pastors and teachers matter so deeply. Many can speak in the name of the Lord and do many works, yet Jesus warned that not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom, but the one who does the will of the Father. It is right to pray for any lost shepherd to be truly saved, for the backslidden and lukewarm to be rekindled as He promises to those who hear His voice and open the door, and for those who walk with a devoted heart, though imperfect, to be strengthened and kept. Those who lead need mercy in a special way, and Scripture adds that word of mercy when addressing shepherds, because the weight they carry is great. Pray for them to be kept from prayerlessness, to seek God daily in prayer and study, to prepare with diligence, to intercede for the flock, to teach the Word accurately and to live what they teach, so that their lives guard the message they preach.
True revival always shows itself in a renewed hunger for the Word of God. When God moves, people search the Scriptures and want to hear and obey. Pray that ears would be opened in the assembly, that the Word would be received not as mere words of men but by revelation from the Father, with humility that saves the soul, and with faith that comes by hearing. Ask that worship would be in spirit and truth, not only together as a family in the gathering, which is good and commanded as we not forsake assembling together, but in every part of life, in prayer, study, worship, family, work, ministry and fellowship. That authentic devotional life, lived out in friendship and in going out to share the gospel, is what leads to the salvation of the lost and to growth that is truly biblical, not merely moving people from one place to another or offering a man centered message of false comfort, but seeing souls born again as Christ seeks and saves the lost.
God is also your protector. As He formed coverings around the earth to shield it from harm, so He covers His people. He gives His angels charge over them, He keeps them from the evil one as Jesus prayed, He delivers from evil people and from deception, false teaching, temptation and lies. After the flood the protection that had helped sustain very long life was removed and life was shortened, which reminds us how much we depend on His preserving hand. Pray for that keeping power now, that He would guard His people from distraction and deceit and from the fear of man, and give advanced warning and deliverance as He did when He revealed the plans of an enemy army to protect His people.
Pray too for households to be drawn by the Father, for family members and visitors to come and remain, to hear and believe the message of the Anointed One crucified for our sins and risen to give new life. Ask for hunger for the Word as for pure milk, for the Spirit of revelation to open minds to understand the Scriptures and to convict and teach, and for faith to pray and receive. God desires all to come to repentance and to the knowledge of the truth, and He hears when we ask according to His will. He is our ever present help.
There is a warning in the history of His people that revival rarely continues into the next generation without intentional faithfulness. One generation sees deliverance and victory, the next turns away. And devotion can dissipate over very small things when pleasure is made the highest good. Ask the Lord to establish this work beyond a surface stirring, to make it deep in the heart, so that it endures in children and families and does not fade when lesser comforts call.
May the Lord grant His manifest presence among you, give faith, repentance and the knowledge of forgiveness, give vision by His Spirit, and keep you all from the evil one. May He raise up shepherds who are faithful in prayer and the Word, and a people who love Him with their whole heart, who bear a good name before Him and before others, which is more valuable than riches, and who walk in the protection and power He provides until He comes.
God desires your love to be fully toward Him, like the faithfulness of a marriage covenant. To give Him divided loyalty is to be unfaithful in that covenant. Scripture shows that there can be seasons that look like revival on the outside, when outward reforms are made and people still attend and serve, yet the heart has not returned fully. God looks on the heart, and He has said He would rather we be hot or cold than lukewarm. Lukewarm is the most difficult condition because a person can think all is well while the heart has grown indifferent. He calls us to burn with zeal for Him, to not drift and not grow cold, and He is faithful to kindle that fire when we ask.
That is why your prayers for pastors and teachers matter so deeply. Many can speak in the name of the Lord and do many works, yet Jesus warned that not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom, but the one who does the will of the Father. It is right to pray for any lost shepherd to be truly saved, for the backslidden and lukewarm to be rekindled as He promises to those who hear His voice and open the door, and for those who walk with a devoted heart, though imperfect, to be strengthened and kept. Those who lead need mercy in a special way, and Scripture adds that word of mercy when addressing shepherds, because the weight they carry is great. Pray for them to be kept from prayerlessness, to seek God daily in prayer and study, to prepare with diligence, to intercede for the flock, to teach the Word accurately and to live what they teach, so that their lives guard the message they preach.
True revival always shows itself in a renewed hunger for the Word of God. When God moves, people search the Scriptures and want to hear and obey. Pray that ears would be opened in the assembly, that the Word would be received not as mere words of men but by revelation from the Father, with humility that saves the soul, and with faith that comes by hearing. Ask that worship would be in spirit and truth, not only together as a family in the gathering, which is good and commanded as we not forsake assembling together, but in every part of life, in prayer, study, worship, family, work, ministry and fellowship. That authentic devotional life, lived out in friendship and in going out to share the gospel, is what leads to the salvation of the lost and to growth that is truly biblical, not merely moving people from one place to another or offering a man centered message of false comfort, but seeing souls born again as Christ seeks and saves the lost.
God is also your protector. As He formed coverings around the earth to shield it from harm, so He covers His people. He gives His angels charge over them, He keeps them from the evil one as Jesus prayed, He delivers from evil people and from deception, false teaching, temptation and lies. After the flood the protection that had helped sustain very long life was removed and life was shortened, which reminds us how much we depend on His preserving hand. Pray for that keeping power now, that He would guard His people from distraction and deceit and from the fear of man, and give advanced warning and deliverance as He did when He revealed the plans of an enemy army to protect His people.
Pray too for households to be drawn by the Father, for family members and visitors to come and remain, to hear and believe the message of the Anointed One crucified for our sins and risen to give new life. Ask for hunger for the Word as for pure milk, for the Spirit of revelation to open minds to understand the Scriptures and to convict and teach, and for faith to pray and receive. God desires all to come to repentance and to the knowledge of the truth, and He hears when we ask according to His will. He is our ever present help.
There is a warning in the history of His people that revival rarely continues into the next generation without intentional faithfulness. One generation sees deliverance and victory, the next turns away. And devotion can dissipate over very small things when pleasure is made the highest good. Ask the Lord to establish this work beyond a surface stirring, to make it deep in the heart, so that it endures in children and families and does not fade when lesser comforts call.
May the Lord grant His manifest presence among you, give faith, repentance and the knowledge of forgiveness, give vision by His Spirit, and keep you all from the evil one. May He raise up shepherds who are faithful in prayer and the Word, and a people who love Him with their whole heart, who bear a good name before Him and before others, which is more valuable than riches, and who walk in the protection and power He provides until He comes.
