15 Things to Pray for Your Pastor By Tonja Ihlenfeldt June 29, 2012

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1 15 Things to Pray for Your Pastor By Tonja Ihlenfeldt June 29, Father, I thank you for my shepherd. I also thank you for my Pastor s wife and their family. I thank You, Father, that Your eyes are on my shepherd and Your ears are attentive to my Pastor s prayers, and Your face is against those who plot evil against my Pastor. ( For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. 1 Peter 3:12 KJV) For I know that in all things You work for the good of my Pastor who loves You. ( And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 KJV) Therefore, in all things my Pastor is more than a conqueror. ( Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Romans 8:37 KJV) Thank You, God. 2. Lord I lift up the hands of my Pastor and his family, placing them in the shelter of the Most High to rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, You are their refuge and fortress. You will preserve their family time. You will keep their family healthy. You will cover their home. Your

2 faithfulness will meet their financial needs in Christ Jesus. ( But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 KJV) You will command Your angels to guard them as they speak forth Your Word to this region and the nation. You have said, I will be with them in trouble, I will deliver them and honor them. With long life, I will satisfy them and show them My Salvation. ( He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation. Psalms 91:15-16 KJV) 3. Father, I thank you that no weapon formed against my Pastor will prosper. Every tongue raised against my Pastor will be cast down. ( No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. Isaiah 54:17 KJV) 4. Lord, let my Pastor have a discerning mind to prioritize the precious minutes in a day. Let my Pastor discern what is most important and be guarded against the tyranny of the urgent. ( And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14 KJV; Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1 KJV) 5. Father, allow my Pastor to glory only in the cross. ( For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Galatians 6:14 MSG) Let the cross be his reason for ministry. I thank you that we have a Pastor that lives his life as Jesus did, depending on you, Father, for everything and only pursing Your will, not his. ( I can of mine own self do nothing; as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which has sent me. John 5:30 KJV) 6. Jesus, keep my Pastor holy in every way. ( God said, I am holy; you be holy. 1 Peter 1:16 MSG) Protect my Pastor from seducing spirits especially when he is tired and hard-pressed. Give my Pastor comrades to help protect him and share in his burden of ministry. ( Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 KJV) As my Pastor draws near to You, draw near to my Pastor. ( Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. James 4:8 KJV)

3 7. In Jesus Name I speak to church hurts, abuse, and ungrateful forces to move. I speak to mountains of criticism and inordinate expectations to be cast into the sea. I speak to stress and fatigue to be cast into the sea, and I believe every need, vision, and dream of my Pastor will be completed. ( And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Mark 11:22-24 KJV; But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 KJV) 8. Forgive those who hurt my Pastor and speak against him, and may my Pastor walk in forgiveness. ( And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ s sake hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; Ephesians 4:32-5:1 KJV) Guard my Pastor from futile thinking and vain imagination. ( This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Ephesians 4:17 KJV) Let every thought be taken captive to obey Christ. ( For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 KJV) I thank You, Father, that You keep my Pastor in perfect peace because his mind is stayed on You. ( Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3 KJV) 9. Father, heal my Shepherd s heart of any grief caused by ministry. Bestow on my Pastor a crown of beauty instead of ashes and anoint him with the oil of gladness instead of mourning. Clothe my Shepherd with a garment of praise instead of a spirit of depression. I call my Pastor an oak of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display Your splendor. ( To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. Isaiah 61:3 KJV)

4 10. Lord I stand against the enemies of my Pastor s prayer life and his time in the Word: busyness, ( So the Twelve called a meeting of the disciples, They said, It wouldn t be right for us to abandon our responsibilities for preaching and teaching the Word of God to help with the care of the poor. So, friends, choose seven men from among you whom everyone trusts, men full of the Holy Spirit and good sense, and we ll assign them this task. Meanwhile, we ll stick to our assigned tasks of prayer and speaking God s Word. Acts 6:2-4 MSG), compulsions, compromise, (Ananias and Sapphira Acts 5) unnecessary phone calls, fatigue, sleepiness, ( Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41 KJV) appetites, overcommitments, and doubt. Let nothing hinder my Pastor s time with You. Let my Pastor rise up to seek You. ( And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. Mark 1:35 KJV) Let my Pastor say no with boldness where it is necessary. I pray our leaders be like Aaron and Hur, uplifting the hands of my Pastor, freeing him to stay with ministering the Word and prayer. ( But Moses hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. Exodus 17:12 KJV) 11. Bless my Pastor with rich study time. ( Meanwhile, we ll stick to our assigned tasks of prayer and speaking God s Word. Acts 6:4 MSG; Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV) 12. Fill my Pastor with the knowledge of Your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that he might walk worthy of You unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to Your glorious power unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; ( For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness. Colossians 1:9-11 KJV) 13. As Pastor preaches, let him proclaim Jesus. ( Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man

5 perfect in Christ Jesus: Colossians 1:28 KJV) Let the Word of God have free course and be glorified from our church, and that we would be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all men have faith. ( Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 KJV) Let my Pastor s tongue be as the pen of a ready writer. ( My heart overflows with a goodly theme; I address my psalm to a King. My tongue is like the pen of a ready writer. Psalm 45:1 ASV) 14. Anoint my Pastor with the truth. Give my Pastor the wisdom to speak into the lives of the pastors of our nation. Let the standard of Christianity be raised in our nation and the pulpits of our nation boldly proclaim your Word once again. ( Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication of all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bands; that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:18-20 KJV) 15. Last of all, Father, I thank You that the future is bright at my church. We say Your will be done in our church. Thank You that the vision of our church is being fulfilled!

6 About Tonja Ihlenfeldt Tonja Ihlenfeldt is the Prayer Coordinator for Christian Fellowship Church. She has been serving the Lord for over 24 years. Tonja and her husband Tim served in various church leadership roles in Mesa, Arizona for over 13 years until God directed them, along with their 5 children, to CFC. Tonja is a homeschooling mother as well as a talented local artist whose work can be seen at