DO YOU PRAY?

“Praying will make thee leave sinning or sinning will make leave praying.” This well-known saying may well have originated with Thomas Wilcox (1622-1687) and speaks into the life of every pastor. I rarely read a biography of any minister of the gospel where they do not look back on their lives and wish they had prayed more. Prayer is essential for the man of God, and yet it is most often neglected. Prayer is what keeps us mindful of our dependence upon God, and yet it is so often not on our mind. Prayer is worship, and yet for those charged to lead others in such worship, it is often lacking. Lets us not come to the end and wish we prayed more. Why not commit now to praying more? Why not use this gift and privilege we have been given to the utmost?

Brothers let me encourage you to become men of prayer. Your flock believes it to be true of you, that you are a man of prayer. Your people believe that you pray for them, this is why they call you first with prayer requests. The question is, are you the man of prayer that the people you lead and shepherd believe you to be? If you are praise God, press on brother. If you are not, I would call you to repent now, not later, but right now, and get on your knees and beg God to give you those desires and affections for Him, that will make prayer a delight to your soul. The people that God has entrusted to your care, are counting on your prayers for them and the lives of their family. Pray pastor, pray!

For His Glory,
Tom Crouse