Why We Pray
Jesus calls His people to be about Him and one of the key ways we are about Jesus, and how we abide in Jesus, is through prayer. This is more than just making our petitions known to Him. Both individually and together, we are a community of believers who abide in communion and intimacy with the One we call our Lord and Leader. Jesus’ Church is meant to dialogue with God about everything and live lives of dependence on Him. God doesn’t want our prayer life to be an add-on or a monologue, rather, His desire is for every part of our lives and activity to be prayer-saturated. Out of a lifestyle of prayer we receive all the plans, purposes, and strategies that we need to fulfill our mandate on earth, as tested and affirmed by God’s word.
As we look at Jesus, we know that He only did what the Father told Him to do therefore, we too need to listen to the Great Shepherd and hear and obey His voice. As we listen to the voice of the Great Shepherd, who does He bring to mind? What does He give us a passion or a heart for? What is He asking us to do, or how is He asking us to intercede? What encouragement does He give us, for ourselves and for others?
What is prayer?
Prayer is the conversational two-way-part of the most important love relationship in our lives, our love relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In prayer, we rightly focus on God, first and foremost, as directed in the Greatest Commandment.
Prayer is the God-given way that our relationship with God is built and maintained, and from that intimacy we have the purpose and experience to live out our lives as his passionate ambassadors.
From this deep, intimate relationship, our intercession flows from our Father to us, and then back to Him. This is how we want to pray for church planting, and also for the church in Canada. We want to receive what is on Jesus’ heart for His church, His people, and the lost, and then pray that back to Him.
How We Pray for Church Planting and Planters
We are told in Luke 10:2 to “pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into the harvest”. While we have a role to play in mobilizing and supporting church planters, we don’t find them or build them. Simply put, our work is to pray them out into the harvest God has prepared.
Ministry is hard, and many of the ways we need to pray for planters also applies to established church pastors.
Pray against discouragement and loneliness
Pray for a passion for time with Jesus and for His Word
Pray for a desire to pray
Pray for the presence and work of the Holy Spirit
Pray for a clear and sustained call
Pray against wolves that might come in and ravage the church, or the pastor’s family
Pray for discernment to identify good leaders and volunteers, and to rightly identify wolves
Pray for the pastor’s wife
Pray for their marriage
Pray for their kids
Pray for good people to come around the pastor who are godly and wise
Pray for wholesome, deep friendships
Pray the pastor will be able to resist sin and pray against moral failure and pride
Pray that identity will be in their relationship with Jesus and not in attendance, or finances, or church reputation, or anything that isn’t Jesus
Pray against doing things in their own strength
Pray against busyness
Pray against living under works righteousness while proclaiming grace
Pray the people of God would be a blessing in their community
Pray for revival and revitalization in Canadian churches
Pray for God to raise up church planters and pastors across Canada
Pray for the lost in Canada to come to Jesus
Pray for the Holy Spirit to move in a mighty way in our day
Pray for resources necessary for Kingdom advancement in Canada
Pray for an unprecedented spirit of cooperation among the evangelical denominations in Canada
Prayer Ministry to Pastor’s Wives
How you can pray for Pastors Wives:
Pray that they would prioritize their friendship with Jesus above all things (above Family, Church, Work). Praying that they would grow both in love and knowledge of Jesus and His Word.
Pray that they would have a gospel rooted identity. Pray that they would find their identity in relationship to God, rather than a role or performance, growing in a deep understanding of Jesus as their only form of righteousness.
Pray that God would guard their hearts against bitterness and resentment. Pray that they would allow the Word of God to bring wise counsel to their hurting hearts.
Pray that they would have a sincere love for the Church as Christ loves the Church despite the glaring imperfections. Pray that their sincere love for the Church would have a great impact on both their own family and those around them.
Pray that God would provide godly friendships and encouragers within their own Church. Ministry can be lonely and discouraging. Pastor’s wives need other women who point them to Jesus and who encourage them in every season of a changing Church life.
Pray for a spirit of endurance and perseverance in ministry especially in the face of difficulty and hardship. Pray that they would drink deeply at the well of relationship with Jesus and His Spirit.
Pray that God would clothe Pastor’s wives with a Spirit of Joy in ministry. That not only would they love Jesus and His Church, but that they would find Joy in what God has called them to.
Pray for their marriages. Pray that they would find deep friendship within their marriage. Pray that men would live from Ephesians 5 in loving and serving their wives. Likewise, pray that their wives would be their biggest forms of support and encouragement. Pray also for unity in their calling to ministry as a couple. That they would serve God hand in hand with Joy.
Pray for their families. Relationships with parents and in-laws are important, and if the couple have children, pray for the children’s relationship with Jesus, for protection from the influence of the world, and against a spirit of bitterness towards the church.