Pray for your pastor

Steven J. Lawson wrote a book called Famine in the Land: A Passionate Call for Expository Preaching, in which he expresses his concern that, despite the number of churches in the land, sermons preached in churches and online, many of God's sheep are starving for the Word of God. He fears that the Bible is read but not preached and referenced but not expounded. The Bible, in many pulpits, is nothing more than a book of mottos that spark an idea about a topic or used to confirm a preconceived notion. Week by week, some people go to church to hear God's Word but hear everything but.

There are many pitfalls a man can encounter in his ministry. He can begin to talk about what interests him for a while and then slap a Bible verse on it and call it a day. He can grab a verse, wing it, and end up talking about what he saw on the news. Or, he goes the other direction, becomes fascinated by some new idea, and begins to leave the ground of Biblical orthodoxy. Not to mention the temptations and pitfalls that are around us daily. I encourage you to pray for God's men who faithfully labor in Word.

October is pastor appreciation month, so I'm told. I can tell you one thing your pastor will appreciate is your prayers for him. Pray that he would love the Bible, never grow bored of it, nor tire of its study. Pray that God would protect your pastor from infatuation with philosophy and the desire and lure for something new. That he would be content with what God has revealed in Scripture rather than looking to unlock mysteries that no man can know. Pray that God would grant your pastor the desire to teach the truth and make it plain, not forsaking the clear teaching of Scripture to enter the fog of intellectual sophistry. Ask that God would continue to teach your pastor and grant him the humility to learn, but also strengthen your pastor with the conviction to stand firm in the truth of Christ. Pray that your pastor would not let friendships, money, worldly possessions, or reputation keep him from declaring the truth of the Word and the courage to stand alone if need be (Ephesians 6:18-20). Pray that he would have the courage to stand against wicked men and that God would protect him when he does (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2). Ask God to bless and refresh your pastor's labors and his soul (Romans 15:30-32).

Is there a famine of preaching? Maybe so. But I know a lot of good, faithful, godly preachers across the country who care about truth and are careful to preach what the text says, who believe God's Word is inspired, inerrant, and infallible, and want the people in the pew to know what God says in that book. Do you have one of those pastors? Then thank the Lord for him, and pray for him.