People in our church often let me know they are praying for me, and I am deeply grateful. Sometimes people ask for specifics on how they should pray for the pastor. At a recent meeting with our church’s Pastor’s Prayer Partners, we gave out the following acrostic with the prayer needs of a pastor:

Personal life—walk with God, family
Administration—counseling, leadership
Study—time, message preparation
Trials—grace, growth
Oversight—church ministries, care for the flock
Resources—strength, wisdom, building projects

I’m very thankful for the intercessory prayer of our people. James 5:16 promises, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”!

(Note: The Pastor’s Prayer Partners is a ministry in our church for which I am deeply grateful. One of our assistant pastors organizes this group so each person has a partner. These faithful intercessors work out a time to meet each week with their partner and pray for me, my family, and our church. A couple of times a year, we have a group meeting to re-partner and include new members.)