Each time the pastors of Morningview Baptist Church gather for our elders meeting, we make it a point to spend much time in prayer together for the church and for members of the church. My favorite part of our prayers together as pastors is praying for members by name and for requests that they’ve specifically mentioned.
Before our elders meeting, each pastor is assigned a couple of families of the church to contact and ask for specific prayer requests. That pastor then prays for all of the requests for that family during our pastors meeting. We’re slowly working our way through the whole church role, one family at a time. So don’t be surprised if you get a call from one of your pastors asking you how we can pray for you.
Pastors have a number of responsibilities in the church. We’re certainly called to preach and teach, to counsel members in need, to care for the church, to lead, but we’re also called to pray faithfully for the church. Prayer is vital to pastoral ministry because all of the other elements of ministry depend completely upon God’s gracious provision.
The Apostle Paul constantly prayed for the churches. The pastors at Morningview believe we should do the same.
To the church of Rome: “Without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers” (Rom 1:9-10).
To the church of Ephesus: “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph 1:16-20).
To the church at Philippi: “I thank my God in all my remembering of you, always in every prayer of mine for you, making my prayer with joy” (Phil 1:3-4).
To the church at Colossae: “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven” (Col 1:3-4).
To the church at Thessalonica: “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 1:2-3).
