Pastor's Roundtable Corporate Prayer...

Good morning brothers! I want to jump right into my topic this morning which is corporate prayer.

But before that, I want to address you personally and speak a moment or two about our high calling as pastors.

We know the qualifications of being an elder or pastor in and truly focus upon our godly character.

And as such our godliness is to set the example.

"Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” ()

As is true for overseers (3:1–7), Timothy needs to live out the force of his convictions in daily, practical, and relational ways, not merely formally or officially.

The word “example” comes from a root word that means to strike, smite with repeated strokes.

It’s a type or an example caused by strokes or blows. (describe the dye against the softer metal).

So we are to set the type, we’re to be then example and when we (the dye) are removed, what pattern will be there?

"Shepherd God’s flock among you, ... eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” ()

Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “you know how we lived among you for your sake.”

And his deliberate example had its intended effect, because they became “imitators of us and of the Lord” ().

Pastors & Elders lead first and foremost by example.

So I wanted to start out about you and your prayer life and set out to encourage you to pray more often than you might be doing currently.

There are 1440 minutes a day and pastor’s on average spend about 30 minutes a day in prayer.

Which factor in about 2% of your day.

So what do we do with the other 98%?

Hospital visits, counseling, seeking after prospects, discipleship relationships, sermon preparation, answering emails, chairing member meetings and a myriad of other things.

Yet, we have the apostolic pattern laid out in Acts with these words:

"But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”” ()

The responsibilities of apostles (and also pastors) can be summarized under two heads: prayer

Dever, M., & Alexander, P. (2005). The deliberate church: building your ministry on the gospel (pp. 149–150). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

(literally, “the prayers,” set times of prayer, including public meetings for prayer and worship; 1:14; 2:42; 3:1)

and the ministry of the word (publicly and privately; 5:42; 20:20).

So the examples that we set on prayer will be significant in helping shape the congregation’s idea of what spiritual maturity looks like.

An pastor/ elder may set a good example or a bad example, but he will not be able to avoid setting one or the other.

As pastors/elders model

holiness in lifestyle,

gentleness in speech,

selflessness in relationships,

soundness in doctrine, and a

loving concern for other members of the congregation,

the church will be encouraged to think of godliness in like manner, and

And our preaching will be illustrated by us, as moving pictures of godliness.

If you’re like me and you struggle to fight for time for prayer,

(for the sake of time) let me offer you just two biblical truths that I hope will jolt us out of that prayerless slumber.

NOT praying for your people is a sin.

Prayerlessness is sin.

We need to be honest about this.

A pastor who fails to pray for his people is as unbiblical as a pastor who refuses to preach God’s Word.

One of the sweetest realities of being a Christian is that we’re now “slaves of righteousness” ().

Despite “desires of the flesh” pulling us towards sin (), believers still have an unceasing desire to do what is right.

Fullerton, R. (2016). A Call for Pastors to Pray for Their People. 9Marks Journal.

Because God has written his law on our minds and in our hearts (; ), we therefore desire to love righteousness and hate wickedness (; ).

The Spirit never permits Christians to tolerate sin in their lives.

Like the congregants they serve, pastors can never be happy tolerating prayerlessness in their lives because prayerlessness is sin.

In The prophet Samuel encourages Israel made this abundantly clear when he promised the people of Israel that he’d pray for them saying,

"“As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. I will teach you the good and right way.” ()

Samuel recognized that a failure to pray for God’s people was a sin against God.

Fullerton, R. (2016). A Call for Pastors to Pray for Their People. 9Marks Journal.

Samuel was a leader among God’s people.

How could he claim to care for them when he didn’t bring their needs before Jehovah-Jireh, the One who alone could care for those needs?

And how could Samuel claim to lead God’s people if he didn’t lead them to seek the Lord in prayer?

To leave God’s people un-prayed for is to leave them uncared for, unprovided for, and unled, “like sheep without a shepherd” ().

2. Praying for God’s people will lead them to change.

Listen to this pastoral prayer: "For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, "so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God, "being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully” ()

As pastors, we long to see our people grow in Christ-likeness.

We prepare sermons because we believe in the life-changing power of the Bible.

We set an example for the flock because we know people follow their leaders.

But do we pray? To be clear, we need counseling, preaching, and training opportunities.

But all of these are useless without the power of God unleashed through prayer.

The Apostle Paul saw prayer as a primary means of promoting the sanctification of God’s people.

This is why he prayed the way he did.

Knowledge, wisdom, understanding, life change, fruit-bearing, strength, power, endurance, and patience

Asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience. ()

Asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience. ()

—what more could you ask for!

For the Apostle Paul, all of these came to God’s people by prayer.

I stress your prayer life specifically first because of what’s at stake.

Here’s what runs through my head from time to time.

What will your church be known for in the community ten years from now?

Will it be distinctively Christian love, holiness, and doctrine?

Fullerton, R. (2016). A Call for Pastors to Pray for Their People. 9Marks Journal.

Dever, M., & Alexander, P. (2005). The deliberate church: building your ministry on the gospel (p. 150). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

Or will your church simply be a reflection of the culture?

The answer, in large part, lies in the character modeled by the pastors/elders.

Are we modeling distinctively Christian love, holiness, and doctrine?

Or are we simply reflections of the culture?

It’s our desire to reflect the culture of the kingdom of God into the culture that God has sovereignly placed us.