Leadership Lessons: Provide for Others, Pt. 4

If you know the Lord and have the privilege and responsibility of leading, then one of the best things you can do for your people is to pray for them.

Leadership Lessons:
Provide for Others, Pt. 4

"And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship."

(Acts 20:36-37)

If you know the Lord and have the privilege and responsibility of leading, then one of the best things you can do for your people is to pray for them. The older I get and the more I serve the Lord, the more I understand the power and necessity of prayer. Prayer touches the heart of God and moves the hand of God. God invites us to pray and pray often. What a wonderful gift you can give those entrusted to your leadership. Those who value prayer will be eternally grateful to you when you let them know that you are praying for them.

God has allowed me to serve as the pastor of Great Hills Baptist Church for over 12 years and the president of the Danny Forshee Evangelistic Association for 18 years. I have the privilege and responsibility to lead two staffs, and it truly is a high honor and blessing. One of the things I do for my staff every day is call each of their names out to God in prayer. Each? Yes. Every day? Yes. Why in the world would I do that? Praying for those you have the privilege to lead is powerful. They will be blessed, and you will be blessed as well.

In verse 36, Paul prays for his friends and fellow servant leaders. Paul was a great pastor/leader. The three greatest things a pastor can do for his people are lead, feed, and intercede. He is to give strong, godly, and compassionate leadership; he is to feed them the Word of God, so their souls are well fed, and he is to pray for his people.

You may not be called to be a pastor, to lead a congregation and preach God's Word to them, but all of us as followers of Christ must be people of prayer. Will people miss your intercessory prayers when you are gone?

Verse 37 is a very touching and intimate scene. These people were going to miss their pastor. They wept much; they fell on Paul's neck. They physically held him, and then they cried. One translation I read says, "they covered him with kisses," and another reads, "repeatedly kissed him."

Paul lived, led, and ministered in such a way as to be missed. How about you? Are you presenting the gospel truth to those with whom you come into contact, providing godly vision and instruction, pouring your life into others, providing for and blessing others, and praying for others?

I encourage you to lead to be missed, and you will live a life of no regrets and no remorse.

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Podcast of the Week

Finish the Race, Pt. 1

God desires for each of us to finish the race He has set before us, and to finish it well. Pastor Danny begins a new series delving into this topic with specific focus and reflection on the life of the Apostle Paul.

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