Pray for the Preacher

I wish I could remember his name.  All the gray matter seems to have remembered is Bill.  The last name is gone.  I met Bill when I served the Vidalia Church and he was the pastor of a neighboring church out in the county.  There was a time during my ten years there that Bill would stop by the church office on a weekly basis.  He came in saying, "Brother Bill, I know you are busy and I am not going to take up much of your time.  I just came by to pray for you"  And, he did.  And, true to his word, he was gone.  The first time it happened, I was surprised, but it was not long before I was looking forward to his voice calling out to me from the open door.      

Preachers need people praying for them.  I was reminded of Bill and his ministry yesterday while in worship.  The preacher who preached is a good preacher.  He is also a high energy guy who gives what he is doing everything he has to give.  When I walked out the door, most folks had left, been greeted, and he was sitting in a chair next to the door looking mostly worn out.  As I left, I thought, "This preacher needs someone praying for him."    I know there are folks in the church who pray for him as their pastor, and I am going to join with them in lifting him up that he might continue to know the power of the Holy Spirit, not just on Sunday, but every day.  

As I look behind me at the preaching ministry God gave me for over forty years, I see a host of faces who have prayed for me, who invested their time with the Father in me, and who enabled me to preach and serve as I would not have been able without them.  Maybe my praying for yesterday's preacher is "paying it forward," or maybe it is just responding to something God is calling me to do.