The Bible highlights profound moment during the Israelites’ battle against the Amalekites as recorded in the Book of Exodus. Whenever Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed. When his hands fell, Israel faltered. When Moses, with his hands uplifted in a posture of prayer and dependence upon the Lord, felt his arms grow too weary to hold up, Aaron and Hur gave Moses a stone to sit on and held his hands up so Joshua and the Israelites would win the fight.
Teron Gaddis, pastor of Oklahoma City, Greater Bethel, said that biblical story is a picture of how people can rally pastors through support and prayer.
“Wherever the pastor is praying for the church, that is where the valley is,” Gaddis said. “If there’s going to be victory in the valley, there has to be victory on the mountain.”
In addition to pastoring Oklahoma City, Greater Bethel, Gaddis leads “Praying for Our Pastor,” a ministry dedicated to caring for pastors through prayer and practical support. The ministry began 10 years ago when Gaddis felt the Lord had placed a calling on his heart to create a space where people could pray for their pastors.
This October, which is Pastor Appreciation Month, marks a special 31-day call to prayer, which the ministry’s leaders hope continues far beyond the month.
The story of how “Praying for Pastors” began is a personal one for Gaddis. Leading up to the calling, he had gone through a turbulent time in his ministry and had been discouraged because of it.
Normally on Sundays, a group of women would pray in the sanctuary. Often Gaddis would pray with them, but on one Sunday when Gaddis walked into the sanctuary, “the ‘mothers’ began praying for (me),” he said.
This simple moment of prayer uplifted Gaddis and inspired him to do the same for other pastors.
“I was somebody who about to drown, and that prayer was like a lifeline to me,” Gaddis said. “I thought that every time I preach a sermon or write something that helps me, surely it can help someone else.”
Since then, Gaddis has authored 11 books all focused around praying for the pastor and encouraging pastors to pray for themselves as well. He encourages prayer for pastors in one of five areas: Lordship, Leadership, Stewardship, Relationship and Hardship.
“We talk a lot about it in the pulpit, but a lot of times we don’t encourage our people to pray,” Gaddis said. “If we encourage our people to pray, we encourage them to pray for themselves. But then we forget that while we’re encouraging the sheep to pray, we, too, are sheep. Who prays for the one who prays for everybody else?”
Gaddis believes that pastors around the world are hurting in silence, but have learned to live with the pain and continue their ministry throughout it. Gaddis believes this because he had done the same thing for eight years.
“I had been hurting for about an eight-year span, Gaddis said. “I was preaching but broken on the inside. My family knew. My wife knew. My children knew. But nobody else knew.”
This year, Gaddis hopes to start a movement with the theme of “Who Carries the Carrier?” based on Gaddis’s new book of the same name. For 31 days, he is challenging church congregations, the “prayer champions,” to ask how they can pray for their pastor. Even if they don’t know what specific prayers are needed, they can still go to God and pray for their pastor’s needs.
“We don’t have to know all of the details of what’s going on in the pastor’s life, but we know through prayer, God knows,” Gaddis said.
Gaddis will continue to post valuable resources through “Praying for Our Pastor” to help church members support their pastors. These include a text reminder, a prayer network that meets regularly online and a resource distribution group. Through these ministries, pastors have been encouraged by their prayer champions and each other.
“It is a fraternity, a strong brotherhood that helps each other when they need it,” Gaddis said.
For more information and resources on how to pray for your pastor, visit prayingforourpastorfellowship.org or text PASTOR to 405-622-8448.
