Father, bless your servants, the pastors of your churches. May they continually sense your presence. May each of them feel your proximity as they minister to your people and accomplish your will daily. May they know that their work is entirely in your hands as they love your children, both the committed and the uncommitted.
—Tom Phillips, Executive Director, Billy Graham Library
Lord Jesus, I pray for pastors today who are struggling with discouraging circumstances in their own lives. May they, as the psalmist says, find their strength in you and continue to set their hearts on pilgrimage. Make for them springs in their desert place (see Psalm 84:5–7).
—George O. Wood, General Superintendent, The General Council of the Assemblies of God
Sovereign God, you hold every pastor in your hands. You are his security, his helper, and his hope. Whatever his needs, meet them. Whatever his weaknesses, protect him. Whatever his strengths, restrain him. Whatever his future, release him. I pray in Jesus’ name that you will protect him from himself, ignite him by the power of the Spirit, and renew him to believe again … that he can change the world. In Jesus’ name, amen.
—Ronnie Floyd, Senior Pastor, Cross Church, Former President of the Southern Baptist Convention
Lord Jesus, fill the harvesters in the field with a zealous, overflowing love for you. May you daily renew in them a love for your people and those who might come to know you. Fill them with your Spirit—to speak as you would speak, to serve as you would serve, and to love as you have first loved us. Heavenly Father, give your servants joy in the work that you have prepared for them to do, bestowing riches that only you can give, blessing them with peace that only you can bring.
—Samuel Rodriguez, President, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
Our loving Father, please enable your shepherds to tend the flock you have entrusted to them with the love of Jesus. May they love you and your people as you love them. May they also love and share with those outside the flock so they may come to know and follow our Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ!
—Paul Cedar, Chair and CEO, Mission America Coalition
Father God, thank you that you have called, commissioned, and empowered pastors after your own heart. I pray for their protection, provision, and continued anointing upon their ministries.
—Sam Clements, General Overseer, Church of God of Prophecy
Heavenly Father, encourage pastors in their divine calling. Quiet their hearts from the busyness of “doing” for you, and allow them to rediscover the wonder of “being” with you. It is here, sitting at your feet, that your shepherds will be empowered by the Holy Spirit with strength for today, hope for tomorrow, and joy for the journey.
—Tim Coalter, North American Presbyter, Church of God of Prophecy
Father, help our pastors to grow so that our churches will grow, and to be healthy so our churches will be healthy. Help them to walk with you today in such a way that they can finish strong later. Thank you for the privilege to love, lead, and feed your people.
—Mark Dance, Director, Lifeway Pastors
Father, woo pastors from the carousel of busyness into the beauty of your holy presence. Lift them from the grind of schedules to the glory near your heart, where they may embrace anew the joy of romancing and dancing with you. Hurl them into the harvest, where your love will draw the last, the least, and the lost.
—Jeff Farmer, President, Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America
Abba Father, bless your shepherds as they impart life-change. Transform pastors first, as they walk in the light of your Son, your Word, and your people. May your servants have fresh encounters with Jesus, frequent experiences in the Word, and faithful engagement with your people. Allow them to experience the joy of joining their flocks in a life-changing journey with Jesus. I humbly pray in Jesus’ name, amen!
—Michael Lewis, Senior Pastor, Roswell Street Baptist Church, Former Pastor of Pastors, North American Mission Board
We offer our sincere prayers for pastors who speak God’s Word to us. Empower them to share transformational truths with wisdom, courage, and power. Bless them physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
—Alton Garrison, Assistant General Superintendent, The General Council of the Assemblies of God
Lord, bless today’s pastor with a soft, empathetic heart that connects with the brokenness in our generation and a resolve of steel that stands firm in the collapsing morality of our day. Please give him supernatural compassion and courage at the same time.
—William M. Wilson, President, Oral Roberts University
My Heavenly Father, I pray for Pastor ______, that today his faith would be strengthened and his eyes and ears would be open to hear your whispers of encouragement and see the depth of your compassion toward him and his family. I pray he will be seized by overwhelming gratitude for the great support of the Spirit and the undergirding of your angels. Please love on him and his family deeply today!
—Ronnie C. Crudup, Sr., Presiding Bishop, Fellowship of International Churches
Dear Father, as you instructed the disciples to distribute the fish and the loaves, so have you charged pastors today to share your nourishing word. May they remember that you are the source to whom they must constantly return if they are to accomplish your purpose for them.
—Charles E. Blake, Sr., Presiding Bishop, Church of God in Christ
Father God, I pray pastors would have anointed and enriching encounters with you as they study your Word. May you lead them to boldly and vulnerably share from their personal life experiences the transforming power of a deepening relationship with you, so that others will long to live Spirit-empowered lives of faith and hope.
—Kay Horner, Awakening America Alliance and The Helper Connection
Lord Jesus, Bridegroom of the church, thank you for shepherding your shepherds as they care for your flock. Confirm their sense of calling, sustain their commitment to your truth, fill them with your servant-hearted love for those you’ve entrusted to their care. Protect them from pride, discouragement, and unwise comparisons. Enable them to be shrewd as serpents and harmless as doves as they minister in an increasingly apathetic, antagonistic culture.
—Todd Sorenson, Vice President, Barna Group and Men’s Ministry Lay Leader
Thank you, Lord, for not only calling pastors, but also for power from you to fill them with hope and strength.
—Randall Bach, President, Open Bible Churches