What is the most important thing you can do for your spiritual leaders? One might think showing support, encouraging, or volunteering to serve is most important. But the most important thing you can do for your church leaders is to pray for them.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 urges Christians to pray for leaders, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”

Most often, we apply this to prayers for our elected government officials. This is true, for Paul mentions kings, but he also mentions prayers for “all men” and “all who are in authority.” So, these prayers are much broader than just our political leaders. We are to pray for “all who are in authority.” This would, of course, include our church leadership.

I can tell you from personal experience that those who lead Christ’s church covet, above all else, the prayers of God’s people. Why do we see this as so necessary? Here are a few reasons to pray for your church leaders.

The importance of the ministry.

There are eternal consequences to all we do. Every follower of Christ should adopt an eternal perspective on life. There is a pointedness to this for Church leaders, for they have the specific responsibility to care for the souls of God’s people. As Jesus is the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls, He has also given His undershepherds the task of leading, feeding, and protecting the flock of God.

Pray that your leaders are faithful to this task because the consequences are eternal.

The physical, emotional, and spiritual weight of ministry. 

In 2 Corinthians 11, the Apostle Paul catalogs, with a long list, the many physical trials he had experienced—from being beaten and stoned to sleepless nights and hunger. He closes the list in verse 27, “I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” And then he says this, “Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.” Church leaders do not often endure such great physical hardships. Still, ministry has a spiritual weight that one would not understand without experiencing it. “Daily pressure” denotes the weightiness of a leader’s position. The word Paul uses for “concern” carries the idea of anxiety or worry. Spiritual leaders are often weighed down in heart and mind by the gravity of the responsibility of leading God’s people.

Your leaders carry a great weight; your prayers can help lift that burden.

Church leaders become a specific target of the enemy.

We are all in a spiritual battle. Christians struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. The enemy of our souls, Satan, takes particular aim at the Lord’s undershepherds. Why? Because if he can topple the shepherds of God’s flock, he can destroy the entire flock. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:10-11). The goal of the enemy is to destroy us. He is strategic in his attacks against God’s shepherds. He uses deception, discouragement, distraction, doubt, division, and demonic doctrines to attack God’s leaders. And, of course, plain old temptation to sin is ever-present. Perhaps the cruelest of all is that Satan often attacks the children of spiritual leaders. The enemy is evil, and his evil purpose is to destroy a church from within by any means possible.

Pray that your leaders will stand firm, having put on the whole armor of God, and that God will protect them, their marriages, and their children.

The need for wisdom.

I often make the point that church elders are not just decision-makers. Not just. But one of the essential roles of shepherding and leading God’s flock is making wise and significant decisions about which path is best to lead God’s people through our world’s harsh and treacherous landscape. God’s sheep need protection, rest, green pastures, and still waters to survive and be healthy. Solomon, when told by God, “Ask what you wish me to give you,” asked for wisdom to lead God’s people.

Pray that God would give your spiritual leaders the wisdom needed to shepherd the flock of God lovingly and skillfully.

Years ago, we lived in a rural area where it was common to stop your car and wait while a shepherd moved his sheep across the highway. I always marveled at the care of the shepherd for his sheep. He had purpose, direction, great skill, and a specific destination in mind for the well-being of his sheep. He knew the dangers of crossing a busy highway. Still, he decided to lead his sheep to where they needed to be and carried out his duties to the best of his ability.

Your shepherds desire the same for you. Pray for them. Pray that God will lead them as they lead you.