When you are stuck or unsure of how to proceed, what do you do? What is your go-to for making an investment in your ministry?Â
Maybe you check Google to see if there is some info out there that would help. My wife’s go-to these days is Pinterest. She knows that someone else has probably already written about the project she’s up against, and she’s a whiz at finding tutorials for just about anything.
But what happens when you are stuck spiritually? There are a lot of good answers to that question — reading Scripture, seeking out a fellow Christian for advice, and so on. But the one thing you cannot forget, the one we all most often leave out, is prayer.
Prayer. That’s it.
I know how we read blog posts so resist the urge to close out of this because there isn’t anything “new” here. The truth is that we, the spiritual leaders, can quickly dismiss prayer because we are busy working in ministry.Â
The Bible is full of instruction on this.
Not enough people to do the work you just know God can do in your group, community, family? Of course there isn’t! God says the laborers are few and to pray for more!
Feeling lonely and desperately desiring really fellowship with other Christians? Pray for it. Pray honestly and earnestly that you would be someone who understands what it means to bear one another’s burdens and that you would find others who are also willing to do that.
Kids in your Sunday school class not talking on Sundays? Pray. Ask God to use His Spirit to convict you where you need to change and to give you inspiration in your planning so you can add in questions tailored to your students.
4 Tips for Unceasing Prayer for Ministers
1. When the problem comes to mind, say a prayer.
This can be a long prayer or a short prayer, but bringing the matter to God in the moment of need is key.
2. Intentionally remind yourself to pray.
If you absolutely cannot forget to do something, what is your go-to method to remind yourself? Do you set alarms, make lists, e-mail yourself, tell a friend … whatever you do for the most important things you absolutely cannot forget, do it to remind yourself to pray.
3. Make a list and refer to it often to see how God is working.
When you pray repeatedly for the same list of things, you’ll start to notice the movements of God in those situations. If you’ve got a list handy of what you have committed yourself to in prayer, you will be able to update it. You’ll see where God is moving, and you will be able to rejoice in His faithfulness.
4. Pray Scripture over your situation.
You probably had some Bible verses come to mind as you read Point No. 4. If God says He is capable of something, and you need Him to do that for you, read those verses and ask God to act. Ask Him to bring you to other areas of Scripture that you need for your own growth, too, because let’s be honest — we aren’t perfect, and we need to be sure that nothing we are doing is hindering our situation.
Prayer that works is prayer with consistency, with regularity, with sincerity, and with strategy.
If you could get God to do just one thing to make your ministry so much ____ (better, easier, wider reaching, deeper, whatever you need) during this season of ministry, what would it be?
How can you improve your prayer life and ask God to give you that?
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