Day 18: Carrying Out Your Ministry and Getting Paid for It

Welcome to Day 18 of Morning and Night: 21 Days of Praying for Your Ministry!

Today, in the morning, pray that the Lord would help you be diligent to carry out your ministry. And in the evening, I encourage you to pray through the Scriptures that say a worker is worthy of their hire (in other words, that you should get paid for the ministry you do), and ask the Lord to thrust you into His harvest field full-time!

First, read these powerful verses about being diligent in carrying out your ministry:

Romans 12:6-8: “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith or ministry, let us use it in our ministering;

he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:6-8 NKJV).

1 Timothy 4:12-16: “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.

Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:12-16 NKJV).

2 Timothy 4:1-5: “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:1-5 NKJV).

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6 NKJV).

O beloved. It is God’s will for you to press on and labor diligently to fulfill your whole calling.

I know it’s hard sometimes. I know you probably feel like quitting, at least occasionally. But, beloved friend, God has called you and appointed you for such a time as this. It is vital, crucial, necessary in this hour–both in order to fulfill God’s purposes for your life AND to complete His work in the Kingdom–for you to fulfill the work of your ministry.

And, despite the difficulties, He will help you do it.

Are you ready to pray?

Let’s pray as follows for diligence in fulfilling your ministry:

• Tell the Father that you come before Him in Jesus’ name.
• Thank Him for saving you, and for giving you spiritual gifts, a calling, and a destiny in Christ.
• Praise Him for His goodness and generosity toward you!
• Confess to the Lord that, once again, you bow before Him today as your Lord and Savior–the Boss and Master of your life.
• Tell Him once again that you give Him all your allegiance.
• Tell Him that you need His help to operate in your gifts and fulfill your ministry, but that you surrender to do so with His help and with His grace.
• Ask Him to fill you with fresh fire and anointing to use all your spiritual gifts in His service.
• Pray that He would help you to serve Him using your gifts, and through your ministry, with your whole heart.
• Ask the Lord to help you be an example to the believers in word, conduct, love, spirit, faith, and purity.
• Ask the Lord to help you focus on your calling in Him, and to give your attention to reading, exhortation, doctrine, and the gifts that are you in you by His grace.
• Ask the Lord to help you meditate on Him at all times, and to give yourself entirely to seeking Him.
• Pray that your progress, and the fruit of your life, would be evident to all.
• Ask the Lord to convict your conscience and continually remind you that your ministry to your spouse and children are also part of carrying out your call.
• Pray that He would keep you from ever neglecting your family in the name of church work. Ask the Lord to help you continually remember that your marriage and children come before church, volunteerism, and outside-the-family ministry!
• Pray that the Lord would help you to preach His Word, using whatever spiritual gifts and opportunities He has assigned to you.
• Ask Him to help you be “instant”–ready and prepared to step up–both “in season and out of season”; at convenient and expected times, and also at inconvenient and unexpected times.
• Ask the Lord to help you be watchful in all things, to endure whatever afflictions come your way, and to fulfill the work of your ministry.
• Pray that Jesus, Who began a good work in you, will be faithful to complete it until the end. And surrender to the Lord once again in this; tell Him that you yield to Him 100%. Invite Him to have His way and do His work in your life, conforming you moment by moment into the image of Christ.
• Thank Him for this, and give Him all the praise!

And in the evening, we are praying and building your faith for you to go into full-time ministry, getting paid for your labors, if that is your desire.

The Bible is VERY clear that the Body of Christ is supposed to pay ministers for their labors. Let’s look at just a few of the verses that say so–and these are not an all-inclusive list for sure.

Let’s start with Romans 10:14-15, which tells us that every preacher needs people behind him who do the “sending”–which includes both intercessory prayer and financial support:

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?

As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:14-15 NKJV).

And the minister MUST still provide for his household, even while he or she is ministering:

1 Timothy 5:8: “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8 NKJV).

But Jesus said that the laborer is worthy of his hire, and that the minister is supposed to be supported financially by the people that minister serves:

Luke 10:7: “And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house” (Luke 10:7 NKJV).

What you have received for free/freely, you are supposed to give free/freely:

Matthew 10:7-10: “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food” (Matthew 10:7-10 NKJV).

But, keep in mind that the free things we have received are basically just the Gospel message of salvation and forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. And the demonstrations of power in the book of Acts were meant to confirm the preaching of that Gospel.

When you’re talking about spiritual maturity and deeper discipleship, that isn’t usually something that people received free/freely, but rather something they had to labor for many years for.

Therefore, if you’re talking about what will feed the people spiritually on an ongoing basis, that’s something that YES, you are allowed to charge for–and that you’ll be blessed if you do charge for. Look at what Proverbs 11:26 says about this:

“The people will curse him who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it” (Proverbs 11:26 NKJV).

Also, the Bible says that the laborer has the right to partake of the fruit of the harvest:

Deuteronomy 25:4: ““You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain” (Deuteronomy 25:4 NKJV).

Galatians 6:6: “Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches” (Galatians 6:6 NKJV).

And beloved, these Scriptures only scratch the surface of what the Bible says about how a minister should be paid for his/her work.

Nevertheless, I hope that these Scriptures are enough to build your faith. If it is your desire to go into full-time Christian ministry, then the Bible is clear: it IS God’s will for you to be paid for what you do in serving Him. And He will make a way where there seems to be no way.

Of course, money is never the end goal of full-time ministry.

However, money buys time. Everybody has to eat, have transportation, and have a place to live. And money provides for those things. Money is simply the method of exchange that this planet’s economies use. With it, you can do anything, because money answers all things:

“A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry; but money answers everything” (Ecclesiastes 10:19 NKJV).

But, if your Gospel work is not provided for by the people whom you serve, then you’ll have to get a regular job in order to feed yourself and your family–and then you won’t have the time or stamina to minister the Gospel full-time.

If you need additional encouragement in this area, I highly recommend that you read my article here on Called to Preach? Here’s How to Start. But for now, let’s go ahead and pray.

Pray as follows for the Lord to provide for you to be paid for your work in ministry:

• Tell the Father that you come before Him in Jesus’ name.
• Thank Him and praise Him for placing His call on your life, and for being the Waymaker, even when there seems to be no way.
• Thank Him for His Word, which says clearly that you are supposed to be provided for financially by the work of the ministry that you do, and by the people you serve in that ministry.
• If it is your desire to go into full-time, vocational ministry, and you’re not already in that place, tell the Lord once more right now about your desire to be in full-time ministry.
• Ask the Lord to make a way for you where there seems to be no way.
• Pray that HE, the Lord of the harvest, would thrust you out into His harvest field.
• Ask the Lord to send people who will send you (both with financial support and prayer support) as you go into the harvest field to preach and minister.
• Ask the Lord to provide for you financially in such abundance that your family has all its needs met, and that the work of the ministry is provided for also.
• Remind the Lord that He Himself said that the laborer is worthy of his hire.
• Ask the Lord to provide for you Himself, for He is your Source.
• Because God’s people are commanded in the Scriptures to give, and therefore holiness, obedience, and Lordship require that they do so, ask the Lord to touch the hearts of the people whom you serve, so that they will obey Him and give like His Word commands them to.
• Ask the Lord to help you preach His Kingdom, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons without the burden and stress of lack and shortage.
• Ask Him to help you give freely in all that you have received freely.
• For those things that you did not receive freely, but rather received with much cost, labor, blood, sweat, and tears, ask the Lord to show you how to implement what Proverbs said about selling grain so that blessing will be on your head.
• Ask the Lord for guidance, wisdom, and discernment, that He would show you what to do–and help you to do it–in all things.
• Pray that the Lord would provide for you to eat of the fruit of your labor, and the fruit of your mission field, so that you do not go hungry yourself while feeding and caring for the people.
• Pray that the Lord would convict all the people you minister to about the importance of obeying His Word in these areas, and that they who are taught the Word of God would share in all good things with those who teach, according to Galatians 6:6.
• If you need to raise your own support, ask the Lord for the courage to do it–and to send you to the right people who will sponsor you.
• Ask the Lord to send you Kingdom patrons who want to sponsor the fruit that abounds for the Kingdom!
• Thank Him, and give Him all the praise!

Beloved, if you are called to full-time ministry, God wants to usher you INTO full-time ministry.

In order for that to happen, unless you are independently wealthy, you will have to be paid for what you do. Therefore, don’t hesitate to pray the Scriptures in which God promises you just that: that you ARE supposed to receive income from serving the people of God. Believe Him to show you how to begin walking in this, if you aren’t already!

Beloved, are you praying diligently over your ministry? Did these encouraging Scriptures and prayer points help you today? If so, leave a comment below!