Praying for the Ruling Elders
Winter 2024
The recent elections of new elders at Heritage FPC, Prince George, and at Faith FPC, Greenville, are not only happy occasions for thanksgiving to God, but should also be reminders to pray for the ruling elders of all our churches.
Who are the ruling elders?
The ruling elders, together with the teaching elder (the minister), are collectively called the session. One of the distinctives of Presbyterianism is the principle that the leadership consists of a plurality of elders who exercise authority over the flock. Weighty responsibilities accompany this role, and therefore, much prayer for the help of the Lord is needed.
According to the Book of Church Order of the Free Presbyterian Church of North America, “ruling elders are the representatives of the people, authorized by Scripture to exercise government and discipline, in conjunction with their ministers.” Among other things, their leadership responsibilities involve overseeing church policies, guarding the doctrinal purity of the church, and caring for the flock.
Why pray for the elders?
First, the Lord commands us to pray for those in authority over us. The apostle Paul’s admonition to pray for “all that are in authority” (1 Timothy 2:1–2) relates not only to government officials, but to our ruling elders as well. In 2 Thessalonians 3:1–2 Paul asks for prayer “that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified,” and so that he would be “delivered from unreasonable and wicked men.” Paul understood that the prayers of the saints are necessary if the word and work of God is going to prosper. We need to pray for our ruling elders if we truly want our churches to be effective in the ministry of building up the saints in Christ and of pointing lost souls to the Savior.
Second, the responsibilities involved in the leadership of the church require much time and effort: attending regular monthly meetings as well as specially-called ones; dealing with spiritual issues both of individual members as well as the church as a whole; the routine handling of church matters like scheduling, overseeing, and problem-solving for the various ministries of the church. These all add to the pressures of the work of the session.
Finally, the ruling elders are only sinners saved by grace. Like everyone else, they possess tendencies to pride, self-centeredness, and human emotions; their wisdom is based on finite knowledge and limited experiences. They need our prayers.
How to pray for the elders
It is important to pray first for the personal purity, integrity, and humility of each elder. How can elders expect to lead the flock in the way of righteousness if they themselves are not cultivating a close, personal walk with Christ? Pray that each elder will be daily reading God’s Word, maintaining a consistent prayer life, keeping short accounts with God in all matters of sin, and partaking of all the means of grace.
Pray that God will give strength for the labor and wisdom for the hard decisions that need to be made. God has not promised to remove difficult work, but He has promised to give strength to those that wait upon Him (Isaiah 40:31). God has not promised to take away issues that require difficult decisions, but He has promised to give wisdom to those that ask (James 1:5). Call upon God to keep His promises for the sake of the elders.
Pray also for unity in the session. The elders need to be united in their stand on issues because a united session makes for a united church, while a divided session risks dividing the church. That does not mean elders must always be of one mind while deliberating. Differences of opinion need to be expressed to examine all aspects of a matter, and session meetings can become quite animated as a result. A final vote may not be unanimous, but once a vote is taken, each elder needs to submit to the decision for God’s glory and for the good of the church. That is the kind of unity to pray for.
Do not neglect to pray for the families of the elders as well. The elder should be “one that ruleth well his own house” (1 Timothy 3:4) because trouble at home will have a negative effect on his ability to lead the church. Pray also for patience on the part of the elder’s family so they can be understanding and supportive when he must be absent from the home to attend to the demands of his ministry.
Pray for God’s will to be known by the elders
In the ninth chapter of the book of Joshua, we read of how the Gibeonites tricked the leaders of Israel into sparing their city. They dressed in worn clothes, packed moldy bread and torn wine skins, and made a short journey to the camp of Israel. When they met with Joshua, they told him they had come from a “very far country” and asked him to make a treaty with them. Thinking they were not a people of Canaan which he was to utterly destroy, Joshua made peace with them and allowed them to live. Later he learned that he had been deceived, but he was compelled by his oath to spare them. Joshua 9:14 provides the key to understanding why Joshua was so easily taken in: “And the men [the leaders of Israel] … asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.” They learned a hard lesson, one that every elder should heed. Before any decision is made or any course of action is taken, the Lord’s will needs to be earnestly and prayerfully discerned. Pray that each elder as an individual and that each session as a whole will never presume to know God’s will without praying for it to be revealed to them. Pray that the “counsel at the mouth of the Lord” will always be sought so that the elders will never be deceived into leading the church in the wrong direction.
Let’s thank the Lord for the elders He has given us and be faithful in upholding them in prayer.
Dr. Bruce Byers | Ruling Elder, Faith FPC, SC