I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
Philippians 1:3-5 ESV
When Bobby and I go to communities to share with prophetic intercessors and church leaders, we are consistently asked about the seeming lack of pastoral support for community prayer. This usually comes up after we talk about the critical role that local pastors must play in praying for community and regional breakthrough.
Many intercessors express frustration when approaching pastors because they are too busy with their own congregations and don’t have the time, or even the interest, to put towards community or regional prayer initiatives. And even though there are certainly those pastors who love intercession and embrace it wholeheartedly, there are many who don’t. And when we dig a little deeper into these conversations, I have noticed a common thread.
Many times, intercessors approach pastors with the latest prophetic intel about the church or an invitation to support a prayer cause. And though neither of these ideas are wrong, they may be premature. For those pastors who are truly called as shepherds to the flock, they are usually already overloaded in caring for people and tend to feel inadequate as it is. To suggest they need to take on another assignment – or are not spiritually attuned to the greater needs of the community – can be overwhelming. And many times, what they actually hear (internally) is that they are not spiritually aware like the intercessors are. Thus, they end up distancing themselves instead of feeling inspired to join the cause.
Coming from a pastoral perspective, we have found that the very first step in getting a pastor interested or engaged in any prayer initiative is to first care about them personally. Let them know you want to pray for their own needs and concerns – period. Don’t attach it to any other agenda. Simply let them know you are available and willing to pray for them in a way that is meaningful to them.
The fact is, trust needs to be established before engagement can happen. Especially for pastors of smaller community churches, they are often already overworked and underpaid, getting constant criticism from congregants who aren’t satisfied. And though this isn’t the case in every situation, the best approach in gaining a pastor’s support for community prayer is to first ask how you can pray for their family, their need for rest and relaxation, or their health and well-being. As they see you actually care about them as a person, and not just a means to advancing your own spiritual agenda, they will begin to value your input. They will learn to trust your intentions and be more open to hearing your heart and vision in future days.
Building trust is a foundational key in establishing spiritual unity and oneness in prayer. Our love for one another must supersede our quest for regional breakthrough. The power of our prayers are not a result of our numbers, creative initiatives, or leadership clout. The spiritual authority we have in prayer starts when we learn to sincerely love one another and joyfully embrace each one’s “part” (1 Corinthians 12:24-25).
Especially at a time when pastoral leadership is being highly scrutinized amidst exposures of immorality and misconduct, we need to be even more intentional in covering and guarding those who walk in integrity and are being faithful in their charge. Corporate breakthrough requires oneness of heart and not just unity of cause. We may just find that our spiritual authority is determined more by our mutual love and submission to one another, than it is to the latest prophetic word or strategic prayer event.
5 Responses
Dear Wanda, as I watched your video, I was reminded of praying and asking our Lord Jesus about the condition of my heart, and praying that I can please Him and protection over my heart. God had given me a dream too where he was stretching forth his arm into a cloud and each time he brought out a piece of a soft toy, he brought out a nose, ears, eyes and then there was a whole brand new teddy bear. I believe God was showing how he brings the parts of a person together.
I am praying our Lord Jesus about a book I have just published, I had been harvesting seaweed for some years now and I have published a small book that has a lot of wonderful health information in it, and I am going to sell them along with a starter pack of seaweed with each book I prayed about the price and God gave me $10 dollars each. I have included scriptures in the book too, that seeds might be sown along with the information in the book. I believe our Lord Jesus has angels sent forth at specific sales points, to take the books and word in them out into the world.
The counselling course I am on too finishes in June.
I am praying too to ask our Lord Jesus on the counselling and his moving prophetically and His anointing in the counselling too.
I believe our Lord Jesus has called me to ministry with those who have parts.
The church I am with I also pray that my heart is covered and I will not be offended, but filled with the joy of the Lord.
I have learned a lot from listening to James Kawalya too and how the occult operate against the church, intercession. I have just turned 67, and what God can do through me he can do even more through the younger generation.
How about just getting an actual pastor? In every church I’ve tried to be part of, I could die and no one would know, and worse, I can’t be there for them, either, because I have no idea what their lives are like except for that hour on Sunday. I’ve attended the small groups, gone around before the service and introduced myself . . . . I feel about as connected to people I drive next to in traffic.
God bless you! It’s so difficult to even want to go when it just seems to be a social club where they all already have their “group”. But, God will lead you exactly where He needs you to be in order to be effective for the kingdom! My husband and I are in a transitioning period as well. He asked us to lift anchor from the church we’d been a part of for almost 19 years. We’ve been going around all over the place in what seems to be training for us (we’re both called to ministry). We’ve done that for 1-1/2 years, and we’re so ready to find our home port again! It’s difficult to find a church with like-minded believers, but we know He’ll leads us where we need to be! I’m praying for you that He’ll bring believers into your life to come along-side you! And that you can have complete peace in wherever He takes you and you’ll KNOW the exact path He wants you on. He’s so faithful to meet every need. 🙌🏼
That was spot on! Trust is vital and, simply put, living with each other! This is how they will know we are his disciples. Thank you, Wanda, very well written❤️
Bullseye, Wanda!!!! Let’s all be praying into this & DOING IT – am believing for the Lord to help us.