Thankful for Pastors and Our Churches

Pastors are the life-blood of our churches. Churches are the life-blood of many of our communities. We must surely be thankful for them in this Thanksgiving week! Pastors, take heart, you are not forgotten. We see how you tirelessly serve us. We know that pastoring is not just a 9 to 5 job that you can turn off when you go home to your families at the end of the day. Oh no! It is a 24/7, taking care of the flock the Lord has given you. 

Statistics show that pastors don’t pray as much as we think they should. You know what I think? I think that pure pastorally gifted people have a hard time sustaining a prayer life, not just because they are busy, but because their hearts break over the needs of the people. It is hard for them to keep bringing all the needs before the Lord. Apostles and prophets, teachers and evangelists can intercede without connecting in the soul realm. Pastors can’t. They are designed to care for the sheep. They know each one. They care about each member.  They have a hard time when someone is diagnosed with a debilitating disease, loses a spouse or a child, faces the loss of a home or a job. Put yourself in their shoes for a minute. Even one of those things in your life can bury you emotionally. Imagine what your pastor is going through. 

Pastors love the sheep. They care about the people. Most of them would lay down their lives for even the most ungrateful in their congregations. If all of us would support our pastors and be dedicated to our churches as the Bible tells us to be, what might our communities look like? We could change them. Let’s do more than pray for our pastors and churches today. Let’s ask God to provide strategies for our churches to reach those communities with all hands on deck. Let’s change our communities and change our nation, as we show others the love of Jesus.

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:35; NLT)

Give Him 15 minutes in prayer:

• Intercede for pastors in general. Thank God for this precious gift to the Body of Christ.
• Pray for your pastor.
• Ask God what you can do to support and undergird your pastor.
• Think about your church congregation. What are its corporate strengths and weaknesses? What has God called your church to do in your community? What can it do well? What can you do to help your church make a difference in its area?
• Thank the Lord for churches all over America. Bless the churches. When you drive by or walk by one today, bless that church, even if it’s not your own church. It is a critical part of the community. 
• Pray that the churches work together to reach the lost and that those without Christ see the love that the Church has for one another. 

A prayer you can pray:

Father, we bless the pastors of America today. What a national treasure they are. We take our pastors for granted too often. You have uniquely designed them to care for their congregations and communities and we take advantage of that. We forget that they are compassionate and care deeply about us and about what is going on in the lives of their flocks. Meet the deepest needs of their lives. If we’ll pay attention, we will see Your heart in them. The part of Christ that selflessly went to the cross is in many pastors. We shouldn’t take advantage of that, but come alongside them, pray for them and encourage them. Help us to see the reason you put our pastor and our church in the place it is. Is there a need there you would like us to meet? How can we show the love of Christ to those who live and work in that area? What unique thing are we called to do as a body of believers? We bless the churches of America. We thank You for them, Lord. Strengthen them. Give them the resources they need to function well where You have planted them. Let the love we have for one another be seen by those who are around us. Let us make an impact and be the shelter from life’s storms for many, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Today’s decree:

Pastors and Churches are a blessing we can’t do without in America!