The last couple of posts in this series have taken a closer look at Moses’ conversation with his father-in-law, Jethro. Moses appears to be in what we might call a “busy season of ministry.” Unfortunately, that busy-ness can be something we often bring on ourselves for any number of reasons that were brought to the surface in the last blog. But the hectic nature of the busy season can feel like it’s multiplied when we find ourselves in situations like the one Moses discovered in Exodus 18:15. In the previous verses, Jethro asked Moses what he was doing for the people and why he was doing it alone, and here’s how Moses responds: “Because the people come to me to inquire of God” (Exodus 18:15 ESV). The New International Version says, “The people come to me to seek God’s will.”
Now, frankly, there are few things that excite a pastor’s soul more than to have someone come to him and say, “I really want to know God’s will. I really want to understand what God wants me to do in this circumstance. Can you help me with that?” That’s a good indication that God is working to transform someone’s heart. Their concern is not for their own needs to be met or their own preferences to be appeased. Instead, they long for God to be pleased in what they do. Sweet music to a pastor’s ears.
At the same time, this pastor is often struck by the gravity of such a request. Any number of questions pound through my mind like waves against a boulder. What can I possibly say that will help this person? They’re grieving; they’re hurting; they’re confused; they’re searching; they’re troubled; they’re going through something I’ve never experienced; what can I offer them that will give them a clear sense of the peace of God that passes all understanding (see Philippians 4:7)? Most importantly, these people have come to their pastor for at least one very important reason: they want to hear from God. They want to know what God wants them to do. And bottom-line: I really don’t want to screw that up!
A pastor gets asked a very wide range of questions through the course of a year, a month, or even a week. A couple years ago, I remember having a series of conversations with a few people that I could only describe as “high octane discipleship.” At the same time as these conversations, other people–who were at a completely different stage of life–were asking for help in trying to understand God’s plan for them. Still others were searching for ministry guidance, and the list goes on. All searching for something good and right: guidance from God. And they’re asking me to help them understand it.
Let me tell you, some of those more personal conversations were difficult to have, but they were well worth the cost because the people involved were committed to knowing how the eternal truth of God connects with their everyday life. And that’s the grand vision of discipleship: proclaiming the gospel into lives that are hungry and thirsty for righteousness.
Of course, things are different now than how they were in Moses’ day. People came to Moses because he was the mediator for the people before God. Hebrews 3 says that Moses was “faithful in all God’s house” (3:2) and that he testified to the things that were to be spoken later (3:5). But Hebrews makes it clear that we have someone greater than Moses, for “Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses–as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself” (3:3). Jesus is our High Priest (Hebrews 3:1; 4:14). He is our Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). He is our Advocate with the Father (1 John 2:2). Every believer can approach God in humility and reverence because of what Christ has accomplished in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Christ is greater and, as the writer of Hebrews says, he is “worthy of more glory than Moses.”
While every believer can enjoy that kind of fellowship with the Father through the Son, God has nonetheless ordained an important role for the pastor in the church. Briefly stated, he has been given the charge of preaching the word and loving the people. Those two go hand-in-hand. As people come to a pastor to “inquire of God,” he has the blessing of speaking biblical truth into the lives of the people he loves.
And that’s where everything changed for me. Since those conversations a couple years ago, I’ve learned a lesson I hope I never forget. It’s not up to me to think of “something to say” when people are hurting, grieving, or searching. Because if people are coming to me to “inquire of God,” then what they need more than anything else is to hear what God has already said. They need to hear the word of God.
The word of God in the midst of your trouble is what gives you life. The word is what revives your soul (Psalm 19:7). The word is what changes you (John 17:17). The word is what serves as a lamp to your feet and a light to your path (Psalm 119:105). The word is what judges the thoughts and attitudes of your heart (Hebrews 4:12).
So, how can you pray for your pastor as he speaks the word of God into the lives of those wanting to know God’s will? To answer this question, I’ll quote Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and author of “The Deliberate Church.” His words are directed to pastors, but I invite you to pray for these things with me. He writes:
“What more appropriate prayers could a pastor pray for the church he serves than the prayers of Paul for the churches he planted (Eph. 1:15-23; 3:16-21; Phil. 1:9-11; Col. 1:9-12; 2 Thess. 1:11-12)? Allow these prayers to be a starting point for praying Scripture more broadly and consistently. This is another way you can unleash the transforming power of the Gospel on the lives of church members. (2) Pray that your preaching of the Gospel would be faithful, accurate, and clear. (3) Pray for the increasing maturity of the congregation, that your local church would grow in corporate love, holiness, and sound doctrine, such that the testimony of the church in the community would be distinctively pure and attractive to unbelievers. (4) Pray for sinners to be converted and the church to be built up through your preaching of the Gospel. (5) Pray for opportunities for yourself and other church members to do personal evangelism” (Mark Dever, The Deliberate Church, 37).
How to Pray for Your Pastors : Series Introduction
How to Pray for Your Pastors : Part 1
How to Pray for Your Pastors : Part 2