It’s early Sunday morning. I’ve been outside, in the darkness of 5am, with my dog, Macy. Her belly is hurting, and she’s taking her time eating grass while I’m listening to cars on the distant parkway.

I think to myself, who on earth is up this early on a Sunday morning? And then, I wonder, how many of those are preachers headed to their churches?

Many have spent hours upon hours preparing messages, hoping and praying, the Lord would use the words He has given them to draw people closer to themselves.

Their lives, like ours, have been disrupted and changed by this pandemic. Some of them are struggling to keep the lights on as giving has declined along with church attendance.

Some have watched their congregations shrink, and they know some of their people have walked away for good.

Like the rest of us, they watch the news, and have heavy hearts for the division, isolation and uncertainty affecting us all.

Oh friend, let’s pray for our preachers.

As he often did, one of the greatest preachers, the Apostle Paul, asked believers to pray.

“Pray for us that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.” (2 Thess 3:1-2)

The need to pray this prayer is no less important today than it was then.

We still have an enemy; and there are still those, among us, who are unreasonable and wicked, and who are intent on hindering the spread of the gospel.

Many pastors, and their families, have targets on their backs. The evil one is especially intent on distracting , dissuading and destroying them.

He’d love nothing more than to take them out and is using every weapon he can against them—pride, the praise of men, financial worry, lust, rebellious children, sickness etc.

Friend, are you praying for those who are on the front lines preaching the Word of God—that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, and that they may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith?

And let’s pray especially now, because truth and Christianity is increasingly maligned in our culture!

Oh, how we need to do the work of prayer and stand in the gap for our pastors and their families!

How we need to truly be intent in encouraging them to keep speaking truth from the Word of God and not compromising with the world.

Their calling is hard. Most of us have little idea of what they endure on a daily basis!

Let’s be their prayer warriors. Let’s be intentional. Their job is far from easy and will likely get even harder.

May God use us to remind them that the One who called them is faithful. May we encourage them and their families, all the more, as we see the Day approaching. May we pray, truly pray, for them!

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