Romans 15:30

"Now I bed you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me." (Romans 15:30)


Paul has constantly asked the members to pray for him throughout his ministry. Through his request, we know that ministers are not omnipotent. They also require a boost of strength and support from fellow brethren. Hence, we should always keep the work of ministers in our prayers.

Often times, we have the inclination to believe that ministers should always be strong and never falter in their faith. The truth is, ministers are but humans, and with that comes human weaknesses. No one can go through life without some ups and downs, and ministers are not an exception either. They get drained just as we do. They get tired like any other human being. They face trials and temptations just as we do, if not more. After all, they are but a vessel of God and not God Himself.

If we put aside their salary and focus on their purpose of working, we can see that they are just like any other holy worker. I'm sure we have seen the weaknesses of the holy workers in our local churches before, and we expect that of them because they are human. Many times we forget that pastors are yet another holy worker. Just as we pray for the weaknesses of the holy workers at church, we should especially pray for the ministers of our church. After all, they are doing important work for God, but they also have to face many trials and temptations that we can only dream of. They are the role-model for the entire TJC. Therefore, if they fall, many might follow the same path. Therefore, it is crucial that each member pray for the ministers since they can affect the faith of so many, both inside and outside of church.

I'm sure we feel the lack of full-time ministers to help out in the church. Therefore, we must strive together to keep the ones we have currently. We know how devastating the fall of a minister can be, because we have witnessed the power of God working with them previously. The whole entire church can falter with such a tragedy. The once strengthened church falls because of the lack of motivation they once had. Can we blame the ministers solely because of their fall? Yes, they should have been better spiritually cultivated. But maybe if we, as a church, interceded for him, he may have pulled through the down times. After all, ministers aren't perfect.

Their job description may be to preach the gospel, but that doesn't mean the ministers alone must preach the gospel. God has instructed us to spread His gospel to the four corners of the earth. Therefore, while we are not able to travel to the four corners of the earth to preach, we can aid the work of ministry through intercession. In turn, we will have a chunk of reward for our effort.

Even Paul, the most renowned apostle requested the intersession from the members, realizing that there's no power without God. How much more should we as members realize that ministers need the abidance of God to do their job well. We must not forget to remember the work of God through the ministers in our prayers, because they are influential individuals in the church, for better or for worse.