Pray For Your Pastor! 8 POWERFUL Verses and Prayers

You NEED to pray for your pastor.

Pastoral ministry is a business unlike any other. It is a dangerous business. A sacred business. A business where the souls of people are at stake.

I was a pastor for many years, so I have a feel for the perils and pleasures of ministry. It’s very hard, supremely rewarding work.

Gardiner Spring said:

It is at a fearful expense that ministers are ever allowed to enter the pulpit without being preceded, accompanied, and followed by the earnest prayers of the churches. It is no marvel that the pulpit is so powerless, and ministers so often disheartened when there are so few to hold up their hands…When the churches cease to pray for ministers, ministers will no longer be a blessing to the churches.

In light of the challenges of ministry, here are 8 ways to pray for your pastor on a regular basis.

1. Pray For Your Pastor For Protection From Satan

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

If Satan can take down a shepherd of God’s people, the odds are much higher that God’s people will scatter.

That they’ll become bitter and disenfranchised. They will question everything they’ve ever been taught by that pastor. Satan targets pastors because the damage is exponential if they fall.

Ask God for your pastor’s protection from Satan. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill your pastor and keep him from the schemes of Satan.

Prayers For Pastors

God, please protect my pastor and leaders from the attacks of Satan. Give him the strength to endure temptation and stand firm against the accusations Satan loves to whisper in his ear. Help him stand firm in your service, always fighting for the faith and for his people. 

2. Pray That Your Pastor Would Be Protected Against His Own Sinful Heart

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:14-15)

Pastors and leaders don’t fall because one day, out of the blue, they decide to dive headlong into sin.

The slide into sin happens slowly, over time, in small increments, as the pastor believes the lies presented to him by his flesh. Pray for your pastor that he would be on guard against the lies of sin. Pray that he would have a proper fear of God.

Prayer For My Pastor And Church Leaders

Jesus, please protect my pastor from the deceitfulness of sin that we all are so prone to. Guard him from sin. Keep his conscience tender and fresh. Keep him close to you and close to your word. 

Helpful Resource:

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Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God
Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God
Keller, Timothy (Author); English (Publication Language); 336 Pages - 01/26/2016 (Publication Date) - Penguin Books (Publisher)
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3. Pray That Your Pastor Would Have Deep Spiritual Encouragement

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. (Romans 1:11-12)

A pastor’s ministry can be brutal, discouraging work. Pastors find themselves in the midst of terrible situations on a regular basis – divorce, death, apostasy, and much more.

It’s also challenging because they don’t see progress in the sense that other jobs do. Christians are always in progress. Because of this, discouragement and depression can be a regular companion of the minister.

Pray that your pastor would be encouraged.

Prayer For Your Pastor

Lord, please encourage my pastor by the power of your Holy Spirit. Let his soul be refreshed with the love of Christ. Let him have faith for the future. Help him to keep pressing forward even when the way is littered with landmines. Let him be refreshed by the fact that your grace is sufficient for him

4. Pray For Your Pastor’s Wisdom

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (James 1:5)

Many elements of pastoral ministry are not black and white. A husband and wife are in serious conflict, and the husband has one story while the wife has another.

A church member needs financial support but has a history of mismanaged finances. A young man struggles with same-sex attraction while still wanting to follow Jesus.

Pastors need God’s wisdom to navigate these gray areas.

Ask God to give your pastor wisdom and insight as they navigate the challenges of ministry.

Prayers To Cover Your Pastor

Father, please give my pastor your wisdom. Help him know the way to go even when the way is not clear. Give him discernment to know good from evil, even when evil is dressed as good. Help him apply your word to even the most confusing situations. 

Helpful Resource:

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A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World
A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World
Praying Life - May by Miller PaulSpecifications; Author: Miller Paul; Great Gift Idea.; Satisfaction Ensured.
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5. Pray That God Would Give Them Doctrinal Faithfulness

By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you (2 Timothy 1:14).

Pastors can be tempted to modify or even abandon biblical doctrines for a variety of reasons.

Cultural pressures, vocal church members, even legal actions can press hard upon pastors, making them feel that the only way out is to give up the clear teaching of Scripture.

They need God’s grace to stay faithful to the good deposit of God’s word.

Prayer For Pastors

Father, I pray for my pastor that you would help him hold fast to Scripture, even when everyone else tells him to let go. Help him stand on your word and only your word. Protect him from the temptation to abandon the precious truths laid out in Scripture. 

6. Pray That Your Pastor Would Have A Healthy Body

But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Ministry can take a tremendous toll on a pastor’s body. Yes, our bodies are temples, but they are often broken temples.

Long nights at the hospital, high-stress situations, and ever-present discouragement can quickly lead to burnout and body betrayal.

Not only do pastor’s need spiritual strength, they need physical strength as well. Pray for your pastor that he would be sustained in body and mind.

Praying For Your Pastor

God, please give my pastoral supernatural strength. Protect him from sickness and disease. Give him your energy to keep serving faithfully. Help him to find periods of rest and recovery. Guide him to still waters. 

7. Pray That God Would Give Them A Strong Marriage and Family

Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church (1 Timothy 3:2-6)

Church history is littered with the skeletons of pastors whose marriages and families fell apart under the strain of pastoral ministry.

And as 1 Timothy states, if a pastor can’t manage his family, how can he manage the church of God? Satan loves to sabotage a pastor’s family, and your pastor needs prayer that God will give him a healthy marriage and family.

Prayer For My Pastor

Lord, please give my pastor a supernaturally healthy marriage. Strengthen the bonds between him and his wife. Encourage them both in ministry. Give both of them wisdom to manage their family and to keep you at the center, not ministry. I also pray for their children that you would let them know you and follow you. Bless my pastor’s family. 

8. Pray For Meaningful Friendships

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).

Pastoral ministry can be surprisingly lonely. Something about being in a position of leadership isolates the man. People look to him to be a teacher and leader, not be their close friend. Pastors need close friends who will encourage them, hold them accountable, and push them toward Christ.

Prayer For Your Pastor

Father, please give my pastor true, deep, sustaining friendships. Give him friends who stick closer than brothers. Who uphold him when he’s weary. Who help carry his burdens. 

Helpful Resource:

Sale
Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines
Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines
Hardcover Book; Mathis, David (Author); English (Publication Language); 240 Pages - 02/29/2016 (Publication Date) - Crossway (Publisher)
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Sustained By Prayer

In some ways, pastors are sustained by the prayers of their people. Obviously, God is the one who ultimately sustains pastors, but one of his primary means is through the prayers for pastors.

When it comes to why you should pray for your pastor, take the words of Charles Spurgeon to heart:

No man can do me a truer kindness in this world than to pray for me.

Do your pastor a true kindness today. Pray for your pastor.


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Hey, I'm Stephen Altrogge. I'm a dad and published author. I've written for The Gospel Coalition, Desiring God, ERLC, Church Leaders, Crosswalk, and many more outlets. You can follow me on Instagram and Facebook .