Praying Forward for the Leadership

God wants all believers to know His will in their daily lives. Pray especially for young people who are seeking God's plan for their lives. May they be "strong in the Lord and in the power of His might" (Ephesians 6:10). As they seek to serve the Lord in different vocations, pray that they will "put on the whole armor of God" and that they "may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11).

Every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ should belong to a local company of believers who hold the tenets of a similar faith and doctrine. The New Testament teaches that the local church is a group of men and women who trust Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and have been led by the Holy Spirit to gather together at regular intervals for worship and for service. God has created man with the capacity for communication with others. In the local church, fellowship with one another is of extreme importance.

Slavic Missionary Service praises God that many of our missionaries are pastors. Some even are overseeing a region of churches. SMS understands the importance that leadership plays in the outreach and outcome of ministries. Therefore, as you pray for your own pastor and church leadership, please remember to include the national pastors and leadership of SMS in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.

Thank God for your pastor’s calling to preach the Gospel and for his conviction that the Bible is God’s message to mankind. Ask God to increase his faith in the power of the Word to change men. Beseech the Almighty that He would grant the pastor a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit each time he shares the Word of God.

Ask God to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the pastor and his family. Ask for wisdom and strength to guide and guard his own household. Pray that his godliness will shine as an example to his family, congregation, associates and acquaintances.

Plead with God for your pastor to exhibit empathy, as he reaches his congregation and community for Christ. Ask God to give the pastor understanding, as he counsels believers and unbelievers in these confusing and changing days. Pray for a “spirit of unity” in all services and meetings, and cooperation with the pastor and the church leadership in all outreaches and endeavors.

Pray that all who attend your church will come consistently and expectantly ready to apply the Word of God to their Christian lives. Ask God to create in every Christian a desire to become more like Christ. Pray that each member may fulfill his or her calling as an ambassador for Christ, always on the alert to invite neighbors, friends and family to the church. Ask God to draw the unsaved through the power of the Holy Spirit in the worship services in order that He might convict them and bring them to conversion in Jesus Christ. And pray that God may complete His church, so that His Son may return for His body.

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.

John 7:38

With a heart of compassion, pray for the salvation of souls on each of the continents of the world. Pray that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will spread to the seven billion people throughout the world. "The Lord… is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). Ask God to strengthen you to be a witness for Him wherever you are and in whatever you do!