DUNCAN/Pray for preachers

Please turn to Hebrews 13:18-19. This is a passage about prayer and it is one of the passages in the New Testament in which pastors ask their people to pray for them. There is much more in the New Testament about what pastors pray for their people. We know that Jesus is the supreme intercessor, both here and above, and the Bible records much about what He prayed for you and me. But there is also significant New Testament attestation to prayer requests from pastors to their people for themselves. And this is one of those passages where a shepherd says to the flock, "I need your prayers and these are the things I would like you to pray for me." Therefore, this passage reminds us that praying for preachers is a normal and vitally important part of the Christian life. Specifically, we learn three important things about prayer for our preachers in this passage. First, the author of Hebrews exhorts Christians to pray. Next, he tells us to pray specifically for preachers. Lastly, he tells us what we are to pray.

I. As Christians, We Are to Pray

In verse 18, the author of Hebrews says, "Pray." In many ways, prayer encapsulates and summarizes the whole of the Christian life. According to question 98 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, prayer is "an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies." Why is prayer so important and why does it encapsulate the Christian life? While there are several good Biblical answers to that question, I would like to summarize three reasons. First, prayer is so important to the Christian life because we were made for and redeemed for communion with God. Have you ever paused to think of what an amazing blessing that is? The God of the universe has said to each and every one of us, "You may talk to Me anytime." It is one of the great blessings of redemption that we can commune with God in prayer. Second, prayer is about the providence of God. Every time a Christian bows down on her knees or his knees and lifts up a request to God, we are acknowledging that God is in charge of everything. And that truth is important to remember during hard times when we have many questions and experience great anxieties about the things we face in the world. The author of Hebrews reminds us of the truth that even though we are not in control of so many important things that happen in our lives, God is, and He is working all things for His glory and our good. Third and finally, prayer is also an acknowledgement of our responsibility. God uses prayer to accomplish His purposes. That points to both parts of the Christian life - God's sovereignty and our responsibility. Why do we need to pray? Because God has appointed prayer as the means by which He accomplishes His purposes. And so again, prayer is important because it teaches us that what we do, and especially what we pray, matters to God.

I. As Christians, We Are To Pray For Our Preachers.

In verse 18, the author of Hebrews tells us to pray for our preachers. Although Scripture gives us many reasons to pray for those who shepherd God's flock, the apostle Paul provides us with at least eight reasons in key passages such as Romans 15:32, 2 Corinthians 1:11, Ephesians 6:19-20, Colossians 4:3-4, 1 Thessalonians 5:25, and 2 Thessalonians 3:1. First, pray for preachers for Gospel fruit in ministry. Every preacher wants to see people come to faith in Christ and grow in grace.

Second, pray for dependence on the grace of God in ministry, not on earthly wisdom. Every minister wants to depend on God's grace, not come up with his own clever ideas to try and produce the fruit of ministry. Third, pray for boldness and clarity in proclaiming Christ in the Gospel. Courage is fear that has said its prayers. And ministers need to say our prayers and be courageous, but it helps if other Christians are praying for us to be courageous too. Fourth, pray for faith and faithfulness, even in suffering for Christ. Paul often mentions suffering for the sake of the Gospel. Yet, he says in Romans 8:18, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Fifth, pray for Gospel opportunities and successes. Pray for the door to be opened to the Word of the Lord. Sixth, pray for deliverance from evildoers and persecutors. In 2 Thessalonians 3:1, Paul says, "Brothers, pray for us that the Word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored as happened among you, and that we might be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not all have faith." Seventh, pray for ministry to be well-received by God's people. In Romans 15:31, Paul requests prayer so that his service for Jerusalem "may be acceptable for the saints." Eighth and lastly, pray for the joy and refreshment of being with God's people. In Romans 15:32, Paul requests prayer "so that by God's will, I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company." Just as the apostle Paul and the author of Hebrews needed the prayers of the saints, our preachers today need your prayers.

III. As Christians, Pray For Preachers to be With God's People.

In verse 19, the author of Hebrews says, "I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner." This is a very similar request to the one that the apostle Paul makes in Romans 15:30-32 where Paul says, "I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered form the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company." In verse 23, the author of Hebrews says, "You should know that our brother, Timothy, has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon." Timothy had been imprisoned and now he is going to come and see this congregation. Could something like that have been preventing this preacher from seeing the congregation? I do not know where he is or why he cannot get back to his people. Yet, here the author of Hebrews is saying to this congregation, "Would you please pray that I can come be with you?" He wants to be with God's people just like Paul in Romans 15:30-32. May God grant many blessings through the faithful ministry of His chosen preachers, blessings given by God through the fervent prayers of His praying people.