Thoughts for Life: #41 Pastors Need to Pray More

C. Peter Wagner goes on to tell us the following in his book, PRAYER SHIELD:

"One of the reasons I am not going to deal with many of the whys and hows of praying more is that by far the greatest majority of books on prayer deal with this.

We do not lack resources.

True, these may not be specifically aimed at the prayer life of the pastor, but the general principles of a disciplined and rewarding prayer life apply across the board.

I feel that four issues are worthwhile mentioning because they are dealt with either not at all or, in my opinion, inadequately.

I refer to (1) the issue of time, (2) the issue of gift projection, (3) the issue of church growth and (4) the issue of personal ministry.

The Issue of Time. How much time should be spent in prayer? How important is the time factor?

A fruitful way to approach the answer to these questions is to explore the essence of prayer.

When all the trimmings are peeled away, prayer must be seen basically as a relationship.

It is our individual, personal relationship with God the Father.

The way for this to happen was provided by Jesus Christ on the cross.

He shed His blood for the remission of sin, the sin that separates us from God.

Through Jesus, our sin is forgiven and our fellowship with God is restored.

Then, and only then, does prayer take its true form. We now love God because He first loved us and paid the price to bring us to Himself.

Prayer is the chief way we express our love to God and the chief way we receive God's love for us.

It is most exquisite expression of our personal relationship.

If we can understand that through prayer our divine love affair with the Father is cultivated, we can more accurately assess the value of time in prayer.

We all know about human love relationships tell us that clock time together is essential if the relationship is to grow.

Not a day should go by without prayer on any Christian's schedule, but especially on a pastor's schedule.

I realize that some pastors feel their schedule controls them, but this is due to faulty time management, not the nature of the pastoral vocation.

This means that if we feel we cannot schedule a daily time with God, we need to admit that our relationship to God is not one of our highest personal priorities.

If this is true, spiritual disaster could be right around the corner."

(Wagner will cover the other three concerns he has in following posts)

Today’s post -#41 Pastors Need to Pray More, in the series taken from C. Peter Wagner’s book, PRAYER SHIELD, How to intercede for pastors, Christian leaders and others on the spiritual frontlines.(pgs. 82-84) By Regal Books

Let’s pray:

Father, it does look like we've been challenged today! May we take this seriously, and may we examine our own prayer time spent with You.

When we see our lack of time in prayer, help us to know that it is up to us to carve out a specific time to spend with You and Your Word each day.

For some, this can be the first thing in the morning, as it will be the best time for them, for they desire to get ready to face the day.

Making adjustments will be the challenge, of course, but well worth the while, to strengthen their faith.

For others, it will be at some other chosen time, and they'll have to make it a habit that won't be broken. That's the hard part.

Father, we want to honor You, and we see more clearly our need to spend more quality time getting to know You. Help us learn what Your Word has to say to us daily.

We ask that You'll guide each of us to decide, and to practice the best time to cultivate special time with You. We ask this in the Lovely Name of Jesus. Amen.

Today’s Bible verse: Ps. 124:8 'Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth."

Today’s quotes: Margaret Feinburg, in - Wonderstruck – “In choosing to be fully present with someone, we can experience many wonders. Spend a few moments reflecting on your schedule for the day. Who could you spend a half-hour with and be fully present, fully yourself? Maybe you have a coworker you could invite to lunch. Or one of your children whom you haven't been able to give full attention to lately.

Find a place and a time—whether it's in your dining room or living room or a park or a coffee shop—where you can be fully yourself and warm your soul in the glow of both knowing and being known.”

- “God doesn’t give you the people you want, He gives you the people you NEED – To help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be.” ~Unknown

Some thoughts today: Christ did everything necessary for us to be saved.

- “This Christmas season, remember God made you with a plan in mind. A reason ... a purpose. When you feel as if you are running on empty and your bubble is just for show, reach out to the God who not only purposes but re-purposes us over and over again.” Darlene Lund

- We’re to stir up the giftings within us, and dispel all fears to do the Father’s will.

Thursday’s post: #42 Prayer Time Must Be Sufficient C. Peter Wagner

Saturday's post: Stay the Course Max Lucado

Sunday's post: Wounded. Broken. Abused. Tammie Johnson

Tuesday's post: #43 The Issue of Gift Projection C. Peter Wagner

A popular post: Spiritually Deaf "God was right. While my mom may have a physical defect that makes her hard of hearing, I have a heart defect that renders me spiritually deaf at times."