I was so tired when I went to bed so I prayed for pastors with the hope I would wake throughout the night to pray more. God woke me once at 3:30 so I prayed again for them. My prayers were focused on the current crisis. I prayed for pastors who made the decision to close down activities at their church and for ones who made the decision to not close down. These decisions are ones that our tough to make and must be made with the Lord's guidance. I also prayed for pastors who are in small churches and struggle financially to have people realize their tithe and offerings are still needed even when they do not go to church. I prayed for pastors in large churches who have high overhead to have people realize the same. I prayed pastors would get the message across to people the importance of loving with Jesus' love. This is more critical to do now than ever before. People will not be able to depend upon themselves as usual. They will have unmet needs only the Lord can provide. People will get to the end of themselves very quickly in this situation. It is the perfect time for we, as believers, to love with His love. God also brought to me this verse for the church...
Yes! We are His people and we need a healing in our land. I don't mean just a physical healing but most importantly we need a spiritual healing. God will bring it as we allow Him to use us as His faithful servant. He will bring it when we allow Him to use us as His hands and feet. There is no better time than now to die to self so He can fill us with His Holy Spirit. Then, we will live in His empowerment. Then, we will not react in fear from the enemy to these days but we will react in His love. Paul's words in II Timothy 1:7 need lived out in everyone's life daily but especially in these days. These words were part of the message Paul gave to Timothy in his ministry. One commentary wrote of this verse:
Paul then focuses on two primary ideas. First, that Timothy's background in the faith should give him the courage to stand fast against hard times. Second, that Timothy should use that courage to defend the truth of the gospel message. Paul will use these points and examples as the foundation for the rest of his letter.
Yes! We, as pastors, need to have courage in these days and we need to use it to share the Gospel and encourage our people to do the same. Paul went through times of being in prison yet he never quit sharing the Gospel. He went through times of persecution yet He never quit sharing the Gospel. He went through times of people standing up against him yet He never quit sharing the Gospel. Plain and simple. Paul never quit sharing the Gospel. He also used opportunities God put before him to love with God's love. We need to do the same and lead our people to do live in this manner.
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for another Saturday night of praying for pastors! Thank You for Your Word that reminds us of what we need to do in these tough days! Father, cleanse me so You can fill me to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit. May You be my words, actions, attitude and thoughts today in a more intentional way. Thank You for the privilege to bring Your Word this morning! I don't like that I get to preach because Doc is not able but I am privileged to have the opportunity to do so. May You be his strength today in a new, different way. May You heal him Lord sooner than later while on this earth. I know it is going to take a miracle and I also know You are still in the miracle making business. Father, I pray for all pastors for Your strength as they make decisions for their people based upon Your wisdom. I pray for protection over all especially those in the front lines taking care of people. Father, thank You for the people who came out to paint yesterday. Praise Your Holy Name the ceilings are all painted and we are ready to do the walls. I praise You for the way You are going to hold off the rain so we can have service and lunch outside. I praise You for the way You are going to give Doc strength to attend. Father, thank You for being My Miracle Maker! Amen.
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