Day 19: Righteous Treatment and Discernment

Welcome to Day 19 of our series 21 Days of Praying for Your Ministry!

Today, in the morning, we are praying for righteous treatment from those whom you serve. And in the evening, we are praying for heightened discernment as you lead, so that you will always know the right thing to do–especially when appointing new leaders and raising up leaders.

First, let’s look at Scriptures which tell us that the people you serve ought to treat you right.

Did you know that you are supposed to be counted worthy of double honor if you rule (lead) well? It’s true.

Of course, if you are unfaithful or abusive or any of those terrible things, then this would not apply. This only applies to elders (leaders) of the church who do rule/lead well. But, if that’s you and you do serve well, you are supposed to be given double honor by the people whom you serve.

Wild, right?

According to 1 Timothy 5:17-18, this especially applies if you are an elder/leader who labors in the Word of God and in doctrine. Why?

Because you are supposed to be able to eat and support your family by doing your work of teaching others the Word. This is what the Scripture says, point-blank:

1 Timothy 5:17-18: “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer is worthy of his wages” (1 Timothy 5:17-18 NKJV).

I hope that builds your faith! Beloved, if you are laboring in the Word and doctrine, contend with the Lord for that work to be your income. Read more about that here in Day 18 of this series, where the evening prayer points were all about going into full-time vocational ministry.

Also, as you’re praying about being treated well, ask the Lord to honor you because it IS His will to do so.

Read Psalm 91:14-16:

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation” (Psalm 91:14-16 NKJV).

Yes, God will answer you when you call upon Him. He will be with you in your trouble, and He will deliver you AND honor you. Believe Him for that, and pray and ask Him to do it today!

Finally, let’s look at just one more Scripture about how the people you serve are supposed to treat you.

There are loads of these instructions in the Bible, but I’m trying to show you just a few examples to build your faith.

Beloved, it is God’s will for you to be treated well by the people you serve. Also, it’s a lie from the enemy that says you deserve to be persecuted, or poor, or hated, et cetera.

Of course, persecution and hatred may still happen–but if they come, and IF God’s people are obeying God’s orders, then those persecutions would only come from sinners, not from saints. (We all know that God’s people may not always obey God’s orders, but I still want to build your faith to pray the way God SAYS people ought to act.)

So, look at what Hebrews 13:17 says:

“Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 13:17 NKJV).

Wow! This verse is heavy. In the Body of Christ, the people of God are actually supposed to obey the leaders God has placed over them, and be submissive!

However, you do NOT have to submit to sinful instructions when your leaders sin.

Scripture NEVER commands you to agree with sin or participate in it. So, if a leader sins and wants you to agree with their sin, support their sin, look the other way from their sin, or ignore their sin, that is WRONG.

You should ALWAYS stand up for what is right BIBLICALLY, and no position or title or personality or amount of charisma or influence should make you waver from sticking with what God’s Word says. These Scriptures do not mean that you should go along with, or accept, or be silent about, sin of any kind–including abuse or adultery or manipulation or gaslighting or lying or any other foul thing.

However, with that said, let’s look at the verse one more time:

“Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 13:17 NKJV).

And note these five points:

1. You are going to give an account for the people you shepherd (your “sheep”).
2. You are supposed to be watching out for the souls of those under your spiritual authority.
3. The people you serve are supposed to make it as easy for you as possible by obeying what you tell them as long as what you tell them lines up with God’s Word;
4. If the people you serve do submit to you and follow your instructions that are pure and in agreement with God’s Word, then that is going to be a source of joy for you; and
5. It is unprofitable for your parishioners/sheep/mentees to give you a hard time and rebel, because then it breaks your heart and you aren’t able to help them very well if your own heart is broken.

That is why the people you serve are supposed to listen to what you say and follow your advice. It’s the divinely-appointed order of things in the Kingdom. And if they will do that, God Himself will bless them.

As Jesus said in Matthew chapter 10:

“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.

And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward” (Matthew 10:40-42 NKJV).

So, how should you pray for righteous treatment from those you serve?

• Tell the Father that you come to Him in Jesus’ name.
• Ask the Father in Jesus’ name that His Holy Spirit would intercede through you and for you right now.
• Thank Him for saving you and drawing you to Himself. Thank Him for counting you worthy of the great honor of teaching His Word.
• Praise Him for His mercy and grace on your life.
• Lift up the people you serve to the Lord in prayer. Ask Him to bless them and to draw them closer to Himself.
• Pray that the people you serve would behave righteously in every area. Ask the Lord to help them love what He loves and hate what He hates; to help them love righteousness and hate lawlessness, as Jesus does.
• Because the Scriptures say it is God’s will, pray that you would rule/lead the people well, and that they would count you worthy of double honor.
• Pray that you would always be faithful to labor in the Word and in doctrine, so that you are always able to feed the people fresh spiritual bread.
• Ask the Lord to provide for all your needs from the work of the ministry, for you are an ox treading out the grain–and He has ordained that you should be physically sustained by the material provision that comes from ministering.
• Ask the Lord also to deliver you, honor you, and set you on high because you know His name and are calling upon Him.
• Ask Him to give you double recompense for all the persecution and mistreatment you have endured over the years!
• Ask Him to answer you, and to help you notice the answers to your prayers.
• Ask Him to satisfy you and your ministry with long life, and that you would see His salvation (which literally, in Hebrew, means His “Yeshua”–Jesus).
• Ask the Lord to do a work in the hearts of the people you serve. Ask Him to help the people to listen to what you have to say, and to heed what you are telling them, as long as your words are consistent with God’s Word.
• Pray that the Lord would never let you utter words that are inconsistent with His Own Word! Ask Him to set a watch on your mouth, that you would not speak out anything that is not from Him!
• Ask the Lord to help you watch out for your people’s souls the way He wants you to. Pray that you would be diligent and would be able to give a good account at the time of the end.
• Ask the Lord to heal your heart from any grief that your people have caused you. Forgive them by turning these things over to the Lord in prayer and praying through the sample prayer of forgiveness and soul healing here.
• Pray that every person who obeys God in treating you well would receive the “prophet’s reward” and “righteous man’s reward,” whatever God deems those rewards to be!
• Pray that every good seed that people sow into you and your ministry would bring them a huge harvest: 30, 60, 100, and 1,000 times as much as they sowed!
• Thank Him for His help and blessing, and give Him all the praise!

And in the evening, we are praying that the Lord would help you exercise discernment in leading.

Discernment is vital for ministers for many reasons. Also, there are multiple types of situations in which discernment is necessary. For example:

• When you’re ministering, you need to be able to sense what the Lord is doing. This is one type of discernment.
• When you’re operating in deliverance ministry, you need to be able to discern what is happening in the spiritual realm, so you can help people get free.
• When you’re evaluating whether or not a particular person would be a good fit for some opportunity, you need discernment to determine their true character and level of godliness (or lack thereof).

The last example of discernment in the list above is what we’re focusing on for our evening prayer points today.

Why? Because too many ministries get wrecked by appointing people to leadership too hastily, without knowing the person’s true character first. And the Bible specifically warns us against doing that:

“Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s sins; keep yourself pure” (1 Timothy 5:22 NKJV).

When this Scripture talks about not laying hands on people hastily, it’s not talking about the so-called charismatic doctrine of “getting slimed” if you touch somebody who is demonized.

No; this passage is talking about not appointing people to leadership too fast.

The “laying hands” was done at ordination and appointment to leadership. And this passage points out that, if you appoint someone to leadership too quickly, and they didn’t have the godly character necessary for that position and they sin, the sin reflects on you. You do not want that!

But how can you avoid it?

By operating in godly discernment and not appointing people to leadership too fast.

Beloved, YOU are supposed to keep yourself pure and immune to scandal by only appointing people to leadership when and if and AFTER they have proven themselves to be of godly, tested and tried and true Christlike character!

So, how can you pray about this?

Pray as follows for godly discernment in leading:

• Tell the Father that you come to Him in Jesus’ name.
• Thank Him for being your ever-present Help in time of trouble.
• Praise Him for His wisdom, power, and strength–and especially for how He so mercifully demonstrates those things in your life, and on your behalf.
• Ask the Lord to give you great discernment, so that in all things you would be able to discern good from evil, the holy from the profane, based on His written Word.
• Pray that “by their fruits you shall know them.”
• Ask the Lord to show you who, how, and when to appoint people to leadership, to personal discipleship/mentee relationships, and even to service roles within the church/ministry you lead.
• Pray that He would not allow you to appoint anyone to leadership who is not of proven, godly character.
• Pray that He would help you not to circumvent or forget about the discipleship process with any of the people you lead.
• Ask the Lord to show you who to be close to and who to avoid. Pray that He would help you know who to let into your inner circle, and who not to.
• Ask Him to show you who to call your friends, versus who is merely an acquaintance.
• Ask the Lord to help you keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it stream the issues of life.
• Pray that He would send you the right friends, leaders, co-laborers, helpers, and partners in the work of the ministry–and that He would deliver you from the wrong ones.
• Thank Him, and give Him all the praise!

Beloved, is this prayer series of 21 Days of Praying for Your Ministry helping you? Did you pray today for righteous treatment from those whom you serve, and for godly discernment in appointing people to leadership? If so, leave a comment below!