2 Corinthians 11
Pray for Your Church!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, October 22.
How is your prayer life for your local church and the larger Church throughout the nation and world?
Paul makes a big statement that can easily be missed in his long list of sufferings for Christ. He writes in 2 Corinthians 11:28, “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.”
The “everything else” Paul referenced is found in verses 21-33 and actually continues into chapter 12. Paul clearly went through a lot to be faithful to God’s call upon his life as an apostle of Jesus Christ to the gentiles. He suffered greatly and in many ways, but Paul is highlighting something here that we can relate to.
Paul says that he feels a daily pressure of concern for the churches.
Are you concerned for the state of the American church or for the persecuted church throughout the world or for the unity of the church in its many denominations and variations? Or maybe you have a more specific local concern for one specific church or locality of churches? Or even more specifically, maybe you have a concern for a specific person or group of people in a church or community.
However you are experiencing the daily pressure of concern for the church, it is my hope that you will bring that concern to the Lord in prayer. Are you praying for the church and its leaders?
Seize the moment and make time to pray for your church and the larger Church.
As Paul teaches us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Have a wonderful day as you live in God’s amazing grace!