John Owen summarizes the biblical ‘job-description’ of a pastor in chapter 5 of The True Nature of a Gospel Church. Among the duties of the pastor is prayer for those under his care. What then should his supplications in behalf of his flock regularly consist of?
He should pray, Owen says,
1. Unto the success of the [preached] word, unto all the blessed ends of it, among them…
2. Unto the temptations that the church is generally exposed unto. These vary greatly, according unto the outward circumstances of things…
3. Unto the especial state and condition of all the members, so far as it is known unto them…
4. Unto the presence of Christ in the assemblies of the church, with all the blessed evidences and testimonies of it…and they will do so who understand that all the success of their labours, and all the acceptance of the church with God in their duties, do depend hereon…
5. To their preservation in faith, love, and fruitfulness, with all the duties that belong unto them, etc.
(Works of John Owen, Vol. 16, p. 78).
If you change the order a bit, you could remember these points by the acronym SERVE
Pray for (1) their present
Situation or state, (2) that they would
Experience Christ’s presence, (3)
Receive the Word, (4) have
Victory over temptation, and (5) that they would
Endure to the end
I might also add that this is a helpful paradigm to use in praying for your own children as well. As a matter of fact, I may post separately to relate Owen’s points to parent-prayer.
Heath, I so hope and pray that your time in ministry is far more blessed than my time was. I pray that you find a healthy church to pastor for many years and that you have truly a fruitful ministry. Looking back over my 20-year-ministry endeavor, I hope that yours is abundantly more fruitful than mine has been.
Thank you Timothy. I know this is not an easy time. But take heart. I always remember the words of one of my teachers who was fond of saying that not only are our persons are covered in Christ, but our performance as well. If not, he would never be able to say ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant’ to any of us.
Thanks Heath. In my lowliness, the teacher has become the student, and the student has become the teacher. Many blessings my dear friend.