If so, about what do you pray? Do you ask God to give you wisdom on topic selection? Do you ask Him to use your sermon in the lives of your listeners? Do you pray that you won’t mess up? Where does prayer for the sermon fit in your weekly sermon preparation?
The fact is that if we are engaged in a spiritual enterprise, then we need spiritual power. So the process of writing your sermon should have focused prayer built right into it, just as much as other factors in sermon preparation, like researching the text, or writing the introduction. So where and how does prayer fit in our sermon preparation plans? ”Oh, I pray all the time.” Do you? But how, specifically is that prayer directly focused upon your sermon for the week.
I would love to hear your answers as to how you pray for, about, and in prep for your sermon. Leave a comment if you please.
Here are my thoughts on this topic:
- Pray for wisdom on sermon text & topic selection, before you begin (whether that is Monday morning, or sooner if you plan ahead, or use a great sermon planning tool like SermonBase Message Planning Software.
- Pray through the text as you read and prepare that God would speak to YOU in the text. That will lend lots of power and focus to your message.
- Pray for the audience you will be speaking to, that their hearts will be receptive to God’s Word.
- Pray for yourself in terms of your presentation that you will not detract from the message which God has for the audience.
So there are four areas of prayer for your sermon prep week. Hope that helps. God’s best to you this week as you step into the pulpit!
Yours for Great Preaching!
Dr. Bill Miller