Let me recommend a pastor’s daily prayer:
“Grant me joy and peace as I humbly trust You with the outcome of my life and ministry.”
I’ve been praying that over myself for what must be something like 6 years now. Maybe more. That’s well over 2,000 times at least. Like any prayer, there is a cumulative effect that is only experienced in repetition over a long period of time. Here are three things I notice that it’s forming in me.
PATIENCE. I find myself less hurried. Less frantic. Less concerned when things there are hiccups in my days. Less annoyed when people don’t play nice. Less concerned with speed and more concerned with the best trajectory. Less swayed by metrics and more interested in stories. A pastor’s daily prayer should ask for patience.
DETACHMENT. I find myself less frustrated when things don’t work out like I had hoped. Less dependent on the approval or admiration of others. Less concerned with long-term legacy. More attuned to whether or not the Father is saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” More of who I am than what I do. A pastor’s daily prayer should ask for detachment.
LOVE. I find myself more able to love people. To really love them. Not because they serve my agenda in any way. Not because they advance my cause. Not because they do or do not do anything at all. Just because they are. I see them less like parts of a whole and more like whole beings in and of themselves. A pastor’s daily prayer should ask for Love.
And when I do that math, it all does indeed add up to joy and peace.
This article originally appeared here, and is used by permission.
