Taking Away the Stress of the Holidays
The Christmas season is a beautiful time of the years. Often times, however, it can also be stressful for many leaders and pastors. From preparing sermons for the December gauntlet of messages to preparing for a new year campaign, and from being asked to attend the multitude of small group Christmas dinner parties to balancing their own family gatherings, leaders are exhaustively being pulled left and right.
If they are not careful, our pastors can easily allow a season meant to bring joy and peace to, instead, overwhelm them with stress and anxiety.
This means pastors are in great need of prayer and support. Our prayers, especially as we are slowly getting used to a post-pandemic reality, is needed even more now than ever.
Here is a simple guide to help us intercede for our leaders this season.
- Pray their love for Jesus would remain.
Losing sight of the love of Jesus is easy during the busyness of Christmas. Sadly, amid the hustle and bustle of this season, it is also surprisingly easy for pastors to simply go through the motions of the holiday with a cold heart. Pray that pastors would grow deeper in their intimacy with Jesus and that their love for Him and His image-bearers would remain fresh this Christmas season. Pray their love for Christ would grow even deeper.
- Pray they would not neglect their family.
With all the demands of pastors during the Christmas season, they are almost always tempted to sacrifice time with family for the greater progression of church growth. When more people tend to visit church services during the Christmas season, it is easy for leaders to want to go full throttle in making each service flawless. Pray our leaders will have the wisdom to lovingly balance a packed church schedule and family time.
- Pray our leaders would not get so caught up in the logistics of planning that they miss out on the joy of the season.
Luke 2:10 reads, “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’” The birth of Jesus was meant to bring joy to the world. It was good news for the world, then, and it is good news for the rest of human history. Pray that pastors would be consumed with the great joy that Jesus has brought us at Christmas.
Join us in praying for pastors during the Christmas season, that they will abound in love for Christ, stay devoted to their families, and be filled with the great joy of the good news of Christ’s birth.
