To restate the central thesis, The Priority of the Pastor is to Prayerfully Protect and Promote Sound Doctrine in both Proclamation and Practice in the Church and before the World. The previous post focused on what I mean by priority; the aim of this post is to focus on that unseen act with clearly seen results: prayer.
E.M. Bounds signaled the call, the challenge, to fill the church with praying men when he wrote, “What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use — men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men — men of prayer.”
Now, Bounds was not saying that the Spirit of God only moves on men and not on women. In this age of history the Spirit has been poured out on young and old, men and women, see Joel 2:28-29. But as someone who believes that the pastoral ministry is for biblically qualified men, I am going to apply what Bounds said to men, and in particular men who serve the church as pastors.
Prayer should fuel all endeavors in life. The Apostle Paul encourages Christians, “in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). From the car salesman to the stay at home mom to the pastor, all work must be done in prayer. In fact, Jesus taught us that without him we can do nothing (John 15:5). But that’s not all he said concerning what his disciples would do. “Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). How is this possible, Jesus? How can your followers do your works, and do even greater works? “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13). It is clear from these verses that Jesus intends to glorify the Father by the Son being glorified through prayers of his followers being answered, resulting in greater works being done in His name.
As will explained in later posts, pastors must not only teach prayer (the proclamation of sound doctrine), but they must live it (the practice of sound doctrine). Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, did more than teach his disciples to pray; he was a man of prayer himself. When Jesus’ ministry grew to magnitudes of crowds throughout the Holy Land, he did not become puffed up in pride over the following he built. Instead, “the news about him spread even more, and large crowds would come together to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. Yet he often withdrew to deserted places and prayed” (Luke 5:15-16).” When opposition to his ministry arose among the religious elites in his day, Jesus did not respond in violence or fear. Rather, “during those days he went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12). The author of Hebrews bolstered his argument for Jesus’ heavenly ministry as the great high priest by describing Jesus’ earthly life of prayer. “During his earthly life, he offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who as able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence” (Hebrews 5:7). If Jesus prayed thus while on earth, how much more is he praying for us now! Jesus did not only teach his disciples to prayer, he modeled it for them, and praise God he ever lives to intercede for his people.
So every endeavor must be done in prayer, and since we have great promises from the Lord that he will answer our prayers, and since Jesus himself prays for us and modeled a life of prayer for us, then it is no small thing to say that pastors must baptize all their endeavors in prayer. Protecting sound doctrine must be done in prayer. Promoting sound doctrine must be done in prayer. Pastors, do not minimize prayer to maximize some other aspect of ministry. Bathe all ministry in the pure water of prayer. Fellow church members, pray for your pastors, and pray that they would be in constant prayer for you. It is to your advantage that their schedules have time blocked off for prayer. This is not a lack of ministry, but the means by which God’s blessing falls on the ministry.
What, then, is prayer? John Bunyan, author of the famous Pilgrim’s Progress, has offered the best definition of prayer that I have found. He states, “Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to his Word, for the good of the church, with submission in faith to the will of God.”
Amen, brother. Pastors, may your ministry be marked by that sort of prayer, the unseen act of Christlikeness that produces clearly seen Christlikeness both in yourself and in the church. To God be the glory, amen.
Sound Teaching, Sound Living 