Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: The foundation on which all ministry and leadership is built is your prayer life. Your leadership is never greater than your prayers.

Successful leadership requires much more than prayer, but no leadership can ever be ultimately successful apart from much prayer. (Google image, Man at altar)

Measure your ministry not by the praise you receive, not by the size of the congregation, not by the amount of the offerings of the church, not by the number of activities centering in the church, but by the amount of prayer that is invested in all the above. Other things being equal a praying leader with a praying people will be blessed of God.

Every leader gives lip service to prayer. However, many have a deplorably ineffective prayer life. It is not enough to have a praying people. The leader is to be a person of God and person of prayer. You cannot be a person of God without being a person of prayer.

An essential element of leadership is praying for your people. When the Israelites in effect rejected Samuel as they clamored for a king, they nevertheless begged for him to pray for them. They recognized that they needed his prayers and probably realized that they owed more to his prayers than to all else he did for them.

Samuel's immediate reply was, "Far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you" (1 Sam. 12:23). He knew that it would be a sin against God to fail to pray for his people. Probably leaders sin more against God and against their people by failing to pray enough for them than in any other way. Do You? It is always a sin to fail to pray for those for whom you are spiritually responsible.

A parent is responsible to pray for his children. A pastor is responsible to pray for his people. A superintendent is responsible to pray for all the ministers and churches under his jurisdiction. The head of a denomination is responsible to pray for the whole denomination, but specially for all the leaders of the denomination.

A teacher is responsible to pray for all his students. Oh, how greatly we all fail in our prayer responsibilities!

Paul wrote to the Ephesian believers, "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Eph. 6:18).

If this is the responsibility of each member of the church, how much more for the pastor. Jesus says the shepherd calls his own sheep by name (John 10:3). As previously urged, each leader must pray regularly by name for all his people.

Surely the most sleepless way you watch over your people (Heb. 13:17) is in prayer. In the Bible the words pray or prayer and watch are often associated together. You cannot spiritually watch without praying. Shepherding and watching involve much more than praying, but prayer is central to your work. You can be sure that you will give account before God of your prayers for your people.

Measure your love for your people by your prayer life. Measure your concern for your people, your vision for your people, and your leadership by your prayer.

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Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana. Creative reading style by Jean.

#54 You will be Accountable for Your Prayer Life
by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel (original posting May 17, 2018)
(pp. 170-171) ZondervanPublishingHouse

Let's pray-

Father, let our pastors and leaders understand that their ministry efforts will be built upon their prayer life. Successful leadership requires much prayer. For them to be the leaders they desire to be, it will depend upon their praying for those they are personally responsible for before God.

Help them realize that it's not the praise they receive, size of their congregation, the amount of the offering, and not by the number of activities the church offers, but the amount of prayer that is invested. A praying leader and congregation will be blessed by God.

Leaders sin more against God and against their people by failing to pray enough for them, than in any other way. It's a sin for us to fail to pray for those we are responsible for spiritually, in our particular ministry.

As a parent, we are responsible to pray for our children. Pastors are responsible to pray for their people. Superintendents and leaders of denominations have the responibilty to pray for the ministers and churches under their jurisdiction. Teachers are also responsible to pray for their students.

Leaders cannot watch over their people successfully without praying. They will have to give an account before God of their prayers for them, or lack of such. Our prayer is for them to be mindful of their need to pray for those they are responsible for.

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen

676-680 one-line Scriptures for those of you who want to learn some more verses this week- or to review them from when they were first posted-

676- Job 29:14 "I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem."

677- Col. 3:17 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."

678- Pro. 28:26 "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered."

679- Ps. 66:19 "But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer."

680- Ps. 41:4 "I said, LORD, be merciful unto me; heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee."

Quotes for today-

~ Mike Huckabee- "As parents, our goal should be to channel the energy of our children, rather than destroy their creative and curious natures given by God that motivate them to discover their unique purposes. We are further admonished to bring up our children “in the training and instruction of the Lord.” By both example and exhortation, parents are to nourish their children. Most values are caught and then taught. Our children are more likely to imitate what they see us do than what they hear us say."

~ Quinnise Pettway- "A practical way to practice humility is to attend to what people are saying without thinking of your response or rebuttal while they are speaking. We tend to struggle with this because we want to get our points across and be heard. The more we practice, the more we find that we will truly hear what is being said and understand others. We can strengthen our relationships by listening more and talking less, and we exercise our humility muscles.

Words of wisdom-

~ A busted man in a broken world comes to Jesus for His merciful touch. He needn't question Christ's power and mercy, as He is faithful to change situations at the request of His beloved. John 14:13 assures that if we ask anything according to His will, He will do it, that the Father may be glorified.

Today's guest post-

10 Things Not to Say to Your Adult Children

By Susan B. Mead

"Emotions may be triggered by that one word for many.

May I pose a question? Do you realize they are our legacy?

The babe that babbles
The two year old that toddles and tumbles
The teen that tests limits – and tempts fate
The young adult – the millennial – that begins 'adulting'
The older adult that is now parenting."

*If you're looking for help to receive the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior, my link to Billy Graham's information is: Prayer for Salvation

Upcoming posts:

30th- Prayers of Thanksgiving

Alvin Vandergriend

5/7- #26 Discovering Your Gift of Intercession

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel

14th- Prayers of Praise

Alvin Vandergriend

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