I have been seeing a lot of posts from my fellow pastors concerning burnout in ministry from dealing with problems in the church, criticisms, feedback, etc. And many, if not all, of the articles, do give encouragement and great advice in how to deal with them. It is a reality that pastoral work is burdensome. Pastors and elders deal with the souls of their members. And a number of times these are spiritually stubborn, hard-headed and foolish souls, just as our own souls are as well (fellow pastors, never forget that). But sometimes it's the physical toll of studying, preparing a sermon, preaching, counseling, and other aspects of ministry that just drain us physically and spiritually.
The articles I have read have been giving good and sound advice. But I’m writing this because I feel that there is one area that these articles I have been reading have not been dealing with, which I feel is the essential part of dealing with all the situations and problems that we may face in ministry - THE PRAYER LIFE OF THE PASTOR. This is prayer as COMMUNION WITH THE LORD. Spending time, making time, to enjoy Him in worship and listening to Him through His Word.
I'm not saying that the writers in the article don't pray, or don't see prayer as essential. But it seems to be lacking in the solutions and encouragement that they give. This is what has prompted me to share this.
In all my 30+ years in ministry, this is what has kept me going. The burnout is there, the physical and spiritual toll is there, the pain and hardship of inner conflicts in the church is there. But God, by His grace, has kept me going primarily through my spending time with Him and His Word.
It's making time to just sit, worship, exalt Him, submit to Him, and listen to His life-giving Word revive my heart.
By His grace He has kept my prayer life consistent. This doesn't mean I don't have dry moments where I don't "feel" Him, or His Word doesn't seem to minister to me - these moments come time and again. But He has continually called me to fellowship with Him, and be revived, refreshed, and receive wisdom and guidance from His Word.
We can only go to His Word and see how His servants have been totally dependent on this time of communion with Him.
Moses is the first example that comes to mind. He had his "tent of meeting", where he spoke face to face with God.
Exodus 33:7-11 NASB Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. (8) And it came about, whenever Moses went out to the tent, that all the people would arise and stand, each at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. (9) Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and the LORD would speak with Moses. (10) When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent. (11) Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
Many today fail to see the gracious benefit we have "in Jesus' name" of being able to commune with the Father. What Moses alone enjoyed, and what Joshua desired, we have in Jesus Christ. This is a benefit that every pastor, elder and minister should use everyday!
Of course, our Lord Jesus Himself, when He was man, is the ultimate example of His communion with God His Father. Look how many times Luke records Jesus praying:
Luke 3:21-22 NASB Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, (22) and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."
Luke 5:16 NASB But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.
Luke 6:12-13 NASB It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
And why did He spend the whole night in prayer to God you may ask? He was going to choose the "twelve".
(13) And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:
Luke 9:18 NASB And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, "Who do the people say that I am?"
Luke 9:28-29 NASB Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. (29) And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.
Luke 11:1 NASB It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples."
And, in probably the hardest moment of His earthly ministry, where do we find our Lord?
Luke 22:41-42 NASB (41) And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, (42) saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done."
It is no wonder, that when the first conflict within the church came, in Acts 6, look how the apostles dealt with it:
Acts 6:4 NASB "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."
They obviously saw, and learned, from their Lord, how essential prayer and the ministry of the Word was. The apostles were not to be distracted or affected by the complaining of the Grecian Jews that they were not being served food. We see the story of Acts 6 as the appointing of the first "deacons". But we may miss out on what the apostles devoted themselves to.
And I would like to believe that prayer coming first was intentional.
It is almost automatic for a pastor to devote himself to the ministry of the Word - study, preparation, preaching/teaching. How many of us devote ourselves to prayer?
Fellow pastors, elders, ministers of the gospel - our call brings with it physical toil and hardship, which will bring a toll upon our bodies. Yes, there will be conflicts and attacks from within the church - unfair comments and criticisms, disobedience, non-submission to leaders, carnal living.
But what is the one thing that will keep us going? PRAYER. SPENDING TIME IN OUR “TENT OF MEETING”, WORSHIPING HIM, LISTENING TO GOD, BASKING IN HIS PRESENCE, MINISTERED TO BY HIS WORD. This is where we fellowship with the Shepherd of our souls, who will guide us as we shepherd His sheep with His wisdom and strength.
This is the one thing that we should never ever neglect. And no matter what we face in ministry, we will have the power, strength and wisdom that we need to push through, to carry on.
Luke 10:38-42 NASB Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. (39) She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. (40) But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." (41) But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; (42) but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
Mary sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His Word. She chose the good part.
May we choose the good part of our calling.
