In my ministry, there have been many times of intense activity. These also seem to be seasons of sharp spiritual opposition. Everything seems to “hit the fan” at once, with multiple crises and ministry headaches to juggle. Early on, I chalked up the pushback I encountered to simple coincidence. I didn’t make the connection between the resistance and the lack of prayer covering over my life and ministry.
Though I said all the right things about prayer, I honestly viewed it as just one more activity on my long to-do list. Soon I had to rethink this. With growing ministries inside and outside of our church, the challenges and stress of high-output ministry were becoming too much. During that time, I learned that everything rises and falls on your prayer life. Even if you’re a good leader, you will not survive if you don’t know how to prevail in prayer. It’s not about getting something done or checking it off your list. It’s about suiting up for the day, being able to stand against attacks from Satan, and have your spiritual mind engaged in a very complicated world.
It’s also not something that you can do by yourself. We pastors need prayer covering from our church members. There doesn’t have to be a huge “intercession ministry” to do this. It only takes two or three people who will agree to pray for their leadership. They should be people of spiritual depth and maturity, people who see prayers answered, and who can keep confidences.
I assembled a faithful group to pray for me and my family, and it has made a tremendous difference. I now have a close group of people that I regularly pray with, and who regularly pray for me. They know what’s going on in my life and ministry. They encourage and support me. I don’t see prayer as an extra. Now I see it as an essential.
To go deeper, see our recommended resources on spiritual warfare.
-Bob Roberts pastor, Northwood Church, Keller, Texas
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