1. May the Lord infuse in you, like he did with John Baptist, the desire to constantly reduce so that Jesus may increase in you.
2. May you always respond positively to the conviction of the Holy Spirit so as to experience the kind of godly sorrow and restoration that Apostle Peter did after denying his Lord and Master for fear of a hostile crowd, then legalistically rejecting the food provided in a vision given him by God, and much later, withdrawing from gentile believers in his desire for the approval of his tribesmen.
3. May you never fail to acknowledge and embrace fellow servants of God who stand up to you and rebuke you publicly like the Apostle Paul did whenever Apostle Peter tried to rob the Church of the liberty that Christ died for and expose them to the bondage of legalism and hypocrisy.
4. May you ever recognize and welcome the wise and gentle ‘Nathans’ that God sends to you to wake you up whenever you drift so far away from the Way than you ever imagined could happen or realize .
5. May God’s Spirit open your heart and mind to perceive clearly and rejoice in the great faith, loyalty and courage of the ‘Jonathan’ God has placed in your life and ministry, And may He grant you the grace to commend initiative rather than being critical and harsh.
6. May you never, like king Saul, resent or become jealous of the younger generation, to the extent of fighting God in your attempt to eliminate or discredit them.
7. May you learn to listen to the fiery and outspoken ‘Jeremiah’, and take courage to humbly and wisely follow the instructions God has given him for your good and the good of the flock you lead.
8. May you be an ‘Abigail’ in your home, interceding fervently on behalf of your spouse, so that his or her foolish, irreverent and hardhearted behaviour will not bring disaster upon your household.
9. May you never desire to, or actively ‘lord’ it over the flock of God you have the responsibility of leading, thus driving them into the crevice of darkness rather than leading them to ‘green pastures’.
10. Rather, may you represent all these channels of blessing to many among your biological and spiritual flock, to the Glory of God.
11. May God grant you the grace and wisdom to circumvent any attempt of your congregation to make you ‘king’ or ‘father’ or ‘high priest’, thus taking the glory and honour that has not been given you by the King of Glory Himself.
12. May Christ-like empathy, sympathy, pity and love ever fill your heart for the tired, confused and discouraged among your congregation.
13. And may our loving Father in heaven grant you the grace and strength to overcome all the frustrations, despair and fatigue that your noble calling brings your way.
14. I pray all this for you in the mighty Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let all that this prayer resonates with shout a loud AMEN!!!