READ: Acts 20:28-31
“But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” – 1 Peter 4:7
It is the duty of the pastor to pray for the preservation of the life of his members. Shepherds must watch for the very lives of their sheep. Satan also wishes to kill your members. God will spare their lives because of your prayers.
Shepherds must watch for the souls of the sheep by being constantly in prayer and thanksgiving. “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).
Shepherds must watch for the souls of the sheep by praying in the night for them. Praying at night is called “watching and praying.” Jesus commanded us to watch and pray. Watching and praying speaks of waiting on God in the night time. “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6).
Shepherds must watch for the souls of the sheep by watching out for the enemy. There is always an enemy trying to steal our sheep. I remember a brother who reared chickens. One night, a cat came into the chicken coop and killed several of the chickens. The cat obviously could not eat more than one chicken but ended up killing more than fifty of them. This is the wickedness of the enemy who comes to destroy the work that we are doing. By the time the devil has finished going through the congregation, people are senselessly destroyed and are unable to be a part of a church anymore.