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31 Days of Prayer for My Pastor
Prayer for your pastor can change your church, your pastor, and you!
Church members need care, counsel, wisdom, and direction. And people outside the church need the gospel. These demands create unique pressures for every pastor.
A pastor who says yes to all of the ministry needs often says no to a spouse and kids. When pastors have a personal crisis, many pastors may feel alone and have few people to turn to for true support. 31 Days of Prayer for Your Pastor provides a way for you to support your pastor through prayer.
God has chosen your pastor for a purpose. Support your spiritual leader through prayer with this prayer book and see the benefit in your own life.
Content
Church members will find Scriptures, prayers, and promises to declare over their pastors, as they enjoy true stories from other pastors and learn to better understand the challenges of leading a church.
Key
Church members need care, counsel, wisdom, and direction. And people outside the church need the gospel. These demands create unique pressures for every pastor.
A pastor who says yes to all of the ministry needs often says no to a spouse and kids. When pastors have a personal crisis, many pastors may feel alone and have few people to turn to for true support. 31 Days of Prayer for Your Pastor provides a way for you to support your pastor through prayer.
God has chosen your pastor for a purpose. Support your spiritual leader through prayer with this prayer book and see the benefit in your own life.
Content
Church members will find Scriptures, prayers, and promises to declare over their pastors, as they enjoy true stories from other pastors and learn to better understand the challenges of leading a church.
Key
144 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 25, 2019
I got this book on sale at a closing Christian bookstore I found while traveling - for those interested, a different closing Christian bookstore than the one I got the last several books I've reviewed.
I had planned on reading a different book on prayer for my next prayer book, but then I heard of a horrible difficulty that a pastor was facing. Not even my pastor, but I decided to do this book and pray for my pastors, current and former, who have showed kindnesses to me in the past. I also expanded my list to include pastors of various family members, pastors that teach Bible classes at my kids' school, youth pastors, and retired pastors. I also prayed for my kids and their various friends, although none of them are pastors.
I wrote all these names inside the cover to this book, along with the verse where Paul said, "Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me." - Romans 15:30
I enjoyed having the ideas of topics to pray for the pastors, including many I wouldn't have thought, and I enjoyed the fill in the blank prayer prompts for each day, such as "God, I give you thanks for how You have ___," "I'm praying my pastor would enjoy more ___." "For my pastors needs, I pray you would ___." "Please give my pastor more and more friends who ___." I liked this format because things always came to mind to pray.
Many of the days opened with statistics from a survey of pastors. No matter what the percentages were, the authors were positive about them. For example, "At least half (50 percent) report that their church is somewhat effective in reaching out to unchurched people... We have reason to celebrate because we are each called to live out the Great Commission." 50 percent that feel effective? That means that 50% don't. I suppose that this is an example of cup half-full or cup half-empty sort of statement, but I feel for those 50% that feel like they are struggling in this. And are they really struggling or do they just feel that they are, not seeing the slow, steady fruit of their work yet?
Or this is an even worse example, "Thankfully, 34 percent of pastors indicate that their level of true friendship is 'excellent.'" At this point I say, "Yikes! What about the 66% that don't?!!" Maybe I am just too much of a math person and that most people wouldn't turn the statistics around like that to realize the other side.
Or even when it's a low percentage of something negative, it can be painful, such as "27 percent of them report they have experienced parenting problems during their ministry." My heart goes out to them. And I can hardly believe that the number is so low, because I'm not convinced there are parents alive who haven't experienced 'parenting problems,' at least from time to time. It makes me wonder if they understood the question, or maybe they only thought it referenced the really severe problems.
And there's nothing good about this statistic: "It's important to know that nearly half of all ministry leaders (46%) report struggling with depression during their ministry tenure." The authors didn't even try to make that one sound positive. But of course, such statistics are meant to encourage us to pray.
Or this one: "55% of US adults report either some or frequent times of exhaustion, while 75% of pastors report some or frequent times of physical exhaustion or emotional fatigue."
And this one: "A key point of stress seems to be a pastor's sense of inadequacy. Thirty % of US adults report experiencing feelings of inadequacy at times or with some frequency, but 57% of pastors report experiencing those same feelings."
Some time ago, I came across Paul's question, "Who is sufficient for these things?" (2 Co. 2:16) So, I started praying for pastors, every now and then, as I thought about it, that they would feel sufficient and that they would be sufficient. Then, more recently, I came across Paul's answer to his own question later on in the same book: "Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." - 2 Corinthians 3:4-6, ESV
The "Engaging God's People" part of each day's devotion would've been better entitled, "Engaging Your Pastor," because it calls us to ask our pastors various things and to have various conversations with them. Apart from telling him that I was praying this book for him - and that was a stretch for me because it felt weird to say - I did not have any of these other conversations. It just didn't feel appropriate for me to do so. Perhaps if I was a man, a close friend, and possibly an elder, I might think differently about it. I could imagine such conversations being enheartening, but I don't want to intrude or ask about things he might consider private. I don't need to know specifics in order to pray, and I wouldn't want to force a friendship with him, or take up so much of his time. I know he's got a lot of other people to see, with a wide variety of needs, and, at the moment, he doesn't need to add me to his schedule.
I am sure that I'm also thinking like an introvert, in needing my own space and boundaries, and imagining that others need theirs also. It reminded me of a time that we hosted a traveling missionary family, ate with them, and listened to their presentation, but I told them that while we enjoyed their stories, I wanted to make sure they had time to rest. I remember how astonished they were - and genuinely grateful. My current pastor has said that he's an extrovert, so he may not need that same level of disengagement in order to recharge, but everyone needs time to rest and regroup, and I know that pastors are busy with so many other people's hurts and stresses.
But the thing about the statistics is just being nit-picky on my part, and the part about "Engaging Your Pastor," as I have re-named it, is just a personal preference. Neither of which is very significant, except perhaps to reveal, through the statistics, that I am more of a pessimist than I realize. (I generally think of myself as more a realist than either an optimist or a pessimist.)
My real concern with "31 Days of Prayer for My Pastor," and the one that caused me to lower the rating was the way the authors put words in Jesus' mouth in the "A Fresh Encounter with Jesus" section for each day. Although it references scripture, not all the words come from scripture, and the tone is different. The Jesus of the Bible didn't talk like that. It sounds more like an American than the Jewish Jesus of scripture.
I tried skipping that part of the prayer prompt, but in the end, inevitably, I would be curious, read it, and have problems with what was said.
For example, "You are worthy of the gift of My Son." Jesus came because we weren't worthy, not because we were. We weren't worthy because we had sinned. We were loved, but had made ourselves unworthy through sin. "But God demonstrates His Own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8.
But then, AFTER Christ died for us, after we started following Him, His Spirit works in us in many ways, building character, and calling us to live in a worthy manner. (Ephesians 4:1-6, Philippians 1:27, Colossians 1:10-13) I think the Colossians verse explained it well in saying that God "qualified us," not to mention that He's the One Who also strengthened us:
"And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." - Colossians 1: 10-14, NIV
So, Jesus didn't come because we were worthy, but because He loved us even when we weren't worthy. Worse than that, we were sinners and needed forgiveness. Then His Spirit transforms us into people who can live worthy lives, and more than that, we are called to live worthy lives.
I have such a deep respect for Jesus that I can't fathom putting words in His mouth. I'm also the sort of person that doesn't like those funny billboards with the tag line "-God" attributing the saying to God. Often they're witty or make a good point, but MY point is that God did not say them, and I would not dare to put words in His mouth.
This is the same problem that I have with "Jesus Calling," and I am attaching two articles that explain this better than I could. One is "10 Serious Problems with Jesus Calling" and the other is "Herescope: Knock knock."
https://www.challies.com/articles/10-...
https://herescope.blogspot.com/2016/0...
I do have a friend (probably more than one) who enjoys "Jesus Calling," and her protest was, "But it uses scripture!" Hmm. And it does. But not very well.
If I had known that "31 Days of Prayer for My Pastor" was similar then I wouldn't have bought it.
The book, the concept, the title, and the topics to pray all had such great potential that I am sorry to give it such a low rating as I am.
I had planned on reading a different book on prayer for my next prayer book, but then I heard of a horrible difficulty that a pastor was facing. Not even my pastor, but I decided to do this book and pray for my pastors, current and former, who have showed kindnesses to me in the past. I also expanded my list to include pastors of various family members, pastors that teach Bible classes at my kids' school, youth pastors, and retired pastors. I also prayed for my kids and their various friends, although none of them are pastors.
I wrote all these names inside the cover to this book, along with the verse where Paul said, "Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me." - Romans 15:30
I enjoyed having the ideas of topics to pray for the pastors, including many I wouldn't have thought, and I enjoyed the fill in the blank prayer prompts for each day, such as "God, I give you thanks for how You have ___," "I'm praying my pastor would enjoy more ___." "For my pastors needs, I pray you would ___." "Please give my pastor more and more friends who ___." I liked this format because things always came to mind to pray.
Many of the days opened with statistics from a survey of pastors. No matter what the percentages were, the authors were positive about them. For example, "At least half (50 percent) report that their church is somewhat effective in reaching out to unchurched people... We have reason to celebrate because we are each called to live out the Great Commission." 50 percent that feel effective? That means that 50% don't. I suppose that this is an example of cup half-full or cup half-empty sort of statement, but I feel for those 50% that feel like they are struggling in this. And are they really struggling or do they just feel that they are, not seeing the slow, steady fruit of their work yet?
Or this is an even worse example, "Thankfully, 34 percent of pastors indicate that their level of true friendship is 'excellent.'" At this point I say, "Yikes! What about the 66% that don't?!!" Maybe I am just too much of a math person and that most people wouldn't turn the statistics around like that to realize the other side.
Or even when it's a low percentage of something negative, it can be painful, such as "27 percent of them report they have experienced parenting problems during their ministry." My heart goes out to them. And I can hardly believe that the number is so low, because I'm not convinced there are parents alive who haven't experienced 'parenting problems,' at least from time to time. It makes me wonder if they understood the question, or maybe they only thought it referenced the really severe problems.
And there's nothing good about this statistic: "It's important to know that nearly half of all ministry leaders (46%) report struggling with depression during their ministry tenure." The authors didn't even try to make that one sound positive. But of course, such statistics are meant to encourage us to pray.
Or this one: "55% of US adults report either some or frequent times of exhaustion, while 75% of pastors report some or frequent times of physical exhaustion or emotional fatigue."
And this one: "A key point of stress seems to be a pastor's sense of inadequacy. Thirty % of US adults report experiencing feelings of inadequacy at times or with some frequency, but 57% of pastors report experiencing those same feelings."
Some time ago, I came across Paul's question, "Who is sufficient for these things?" (2 Co. 2:16) So, I started praying for pastors, every now and then, as I thought about it, that they would feel sufficient and that they would be sufficient. Then, more recently, I came across Paul's answer to his own question later on in the same book: "Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." - 2 Corinthians 3:4-6, ESV
The "Engaging God's People" part of each day's devotion would've been better entitled, "Engaging Your Pastor," because it calls us to ask our pastors various things and to have various conversations with them. Apart from telling him that I was praying this book for him - and that was a stretch for me because it felt weird to say - I did not have any of these other conversations. It just didn't feel appropriate for me to do so. Perhaps if I was a man, a close friend, and possibly an elder, I might think differently about it. I could imagine such conversations being enheartening, but I don't want to intrude or ask about things he might consider private. I don't need to know specifics in order to pray, and I wouldn't want to force a friendship with him, or take up so much of his time. I know he's got a lot of other people to see, with a wide variety of needs, and, at the moment, he doesn't need to add me to his schedule.
I am sure that I'm also thinking like an introvert, in needing my own space and boundaries, and imagining that others need theirs also. It reminded me of a time that we hosted a traveling missionary family, ate with them, and listened to their presentation, but I told them that while we enjoyed their stories, I wanted to make sure they had time to rest. I remember how astonished they were - and genuinely grateful. My current pastor has said that he's an extrovert, so he may not need that same level of disengagement in order to recharge, but everyone needs time to rest and regroup, and I know that pastors are busy with so many other people's hurts and stresses.
But the thing about the statistics is just being nit-picky on my part, and the part about "Engaging Your Pastor," as I have re-named it, is just a personal preference. Neither of which is very significant, except perhaps to reveal, through the statistics, that I am more of a pessimist than I realize. (I generally think of myself as more a realist than either an optimist or a pessimist.)
My real concern with "31 Days of Prayer for My Pastor," and the one that caused me to lower the rating was the way the authors put words in Jesus' mouth in the "A Fresh Encounter with Jesus" section for each day. Although it references scripture, not all the words come from scripture, and the tone is different. The Jesus of the Bible didn't talk like that. It sounds more like an American than the Jewish Jesus of scripture.
I tried skipping that part of the prayer prompt, but in the end, inevitably, I would be curious, read it, and have problems with what was said.
For example, "You are worthy of the gift of My Son." Jesus came because we weren't worthy, not because we were. We weren't worthy because we had sinned. We were loved, but had made ourselves unworthy through sin. "But God demonstrates His Own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8.
But then, AFTER Christ died for us, after we started following Him, His Spirit works in us in many ways, building character, and calling us to live in a worthy manner. (Ephesians 4:1-6, Philippians 1:27, Colossians 1:10-13) I think the Colossians verse explained it well in saying that God "qualified us," not to mention that He's the One Who also strengthened us:
"And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." - Colossians 1: 10-14, NIV
So, Jesus didn't come because we were worthy, but because He loved us even when we weren't worthy. Worse than that, we were sinners and needed forgiveness. Then His Spirit transforms us into people who can live worthy lives, and more than that, we are called to live worthy lives.
I have such a deep respect for Jesus that I can't fathom putting words in His mouth. I'm also the sort of person that doesn't like those funny billboards with the tag line "-God" attributing the saying to God. Often they're witty or make a good point, but MY point is that God did not say them, and I would not dare to put words in His mouth.
This is the same problem that I have with "Jesus Calling," and I am attaching two articles that explain this better than I could. One is "10 Serious Problems with Jesus Calling" and the other is "Herescope: Knock knock."
https://www.challies.com/articles/10-...
https://herescope.blogspot.com/2016/0...
I do have a friend (probably more than one) who enjoys "Jesus Calling," and her protest was, "But it uses scripture!" Hmm. And it does. But not very well.
If I had known that "31 Days of Prayer for My Pastor" was similar then I wouldn't have bought it.
The book, the concept, the title, and the topics to pray all had such great potential that I am sorry to give it such a low rating as I am.
May 29, 2021
SYNOPSIS
Prayer for your pastor can change your church, your pastor, and you!
Church members need care, counsel, wisdom, and direction. And people outside the church need the gospel. These demands create unique pressures for every pastor.
A pastor who says yes to all of the ministry needs often says no to a spouse and kids. When pastors have a personal crisis, many pastors may feel alone and have few people to turn to for true support. 31 Days of Prayer for Your Pastor provides a way for you to support your pastor through prayer.
God has chosen your pastor for a purpose. Support your spiritual leader through prayer with this prayer book and see the benefit in your own life.
REVIEW
In my opinion this volume doesn’t go deep enough into the topic. Suffice it to say that I felt the need to supplement it’s lessons with additional resources.
Prayer for your pastor can change your church, your pastor, and you!
Church members need care, counsel, wisdom, and direction. And people outside the church need the gospel. These demands create unique pressures for every pastor.
A pastor who says yes to all of the ministry needs often says no to a spouse and kids. When pastors have a personal crisis, many pastors may feel alone and have few people to turn to for true support. 31 Days of Prayer for Your Pastor provides a way for you to support your pastor through prayer.
God has chosen your pastor for a purpose. Support your spiritual leader through prayer with this prayer book and see the benefit in your own life.
REVIEW
In my opinion this volume doesn’t go deep enough into the topic. Suffice it to say that I felt the need to supplement it’s lessons with additional resources.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews