Praying For The Church

No matter how long I have been leading public prayer (and it has been over 25 years now), it always makes me nervous. It is an awesome responsibility to go before our God in prayer on behalf of the entire church, and I do not want to make mistakes, nor do I want to recite some cliched set of phrases which connote a shallow, surface faith in God.

What to do, then?

It is infinitely useful, especially if you have opportunity to prepare, to examine the scriptures, looking for the prayers of godly men. In particular, it is good to look over the prayers others made on behalf of churches. A good place to start looking is in the letters of Paul.

In his first epistle to the church at Thessalonica, Paul mentions that he prayed for them "night and day" (3:10). What did he pray?

That their faith might abound. Paul prayed that he might come to them, to ". . . complete what is lacking in your faith . . ." (v.10). All churches, even strong ones, need to grow in their faith, and so Paul's request for Thessalonica is just as applicable here in Irving. We can always use prayer to request that God strengthen our faith.

That their love might abound. John said, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God" (1 Jn. 4:7). Paul, knowing that love for one another was a strong part of the basis for unity, prayed for the Thessalonians, "and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you" (v.12). Becoming a closer knit group will help the church at Westside stand together in more difficult times.

That their holiness might abound. There are few things a church needs more than to be able to present itself holy in the eyes of God and the world. Nothing hurts the cause of Christ more than a church which does not take seriously its responsibility to be holy. Understanding this, Paul prayed for Thessalonica, that God ". . . may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints" (v. 13). Here, if we shine forth holiness, the cause of Christ will be honored and others, seeing what we have will come to Him as well.

Prayers, especially those in public, need not be long to be effective. The four verses which contain Paul's prayer here take no more than a few seconds to read, but contained within those words are volumes on what a church truly needs. Next time you are called on to pray, look carefully at one of the prayers for a particular church. Most likely, it will serve the church where you are as well.