Did you know that the Bible mentions prayer 512 times? I’m no scholar but something that is mentioned that many times in Scripture must be very, very important. It must also be something that God wants us to do. This morning I looked up some of those verses. One passage that particularly sticks out to me is found in Ephesians 6:18-20. This is what it says.
Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. 19-20And don’t forget to pray for me. (Your Leader) Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out. Taken from the Message
When I grade myself on how well I am doing with these instructions I fall short. I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ all the time. Those people include all of my friends & family. Those people who have “prayer requests”. I often fall into the thought process that says if I do that, it is sufficient. But what about the rest of the verse. Paul, their Pastor and leader says, “hey guys, please don’t forget to pray for me! I am your leader.” He asks for prayer as he leads. Why? Because leading is not easy. Because leaders need vision. Leaders need to know where God is wanting them to lead. The responsibility for the church getting the gospel out falls on all of us, but scripture specifically asks for us to pray for the leaders. They carry heavy loads & burdens (both good and bad), that the church will never ever know.
I have been guilty for not lifting up my fellow staff members like I should. Most of us are praying for our lead pastor John Cremeans as he is in this tough season but have we been praying for the man that is standing in the place of leadership right now in John’s absence? I am convicted and convinced that we need to be praying for Gus Sareyka, our Pastor of Life Development as he leads Fellowship Church during this season. Gus is a man of conviction and a man that loves Jesus and Fellowship Church.
If the apostle Paul asked for his church in Ephesus to pray for him and his leadership, shouldn’t we be praying for our leadership? I want to encourage you to take time to pray today for the entire staff of Fellowship Church, the elders, and especially Gus as they leads us through this time.
I was looking for an encouraging video to inspire us to pray…I found this and it made me laugh….I used to have “hammer” pants.