Dear BAGBR Church,  

Psalm 69: 6 "May those who wait for You not be ashamed through me...May those who seek You not be dishonored through me..." 

As a leader, we are always in need of the prayers of His people.  As leaders, our focus is often on ourselves as leaders. Sometimes we may pray more intensely for ourselves than we do for the well-being and spiritual health of those who are under our leadership. 

David's prayer for his people is instructional.  He recognized the weightiness of his responsibility and that by making bad decisions or taking impulsive actions, his people might be the ones who suffer the most.   Seldom do we think of the consequences of our actions on others because we are only consumed with how our actions and decisions will affect us.  In reality, when God's people follow us in directions that are not right, wise, or best, they will be humiliated and dishonored. There are many who look to us and expect us to honor God (and we  should). Many who "wait on God" are assuming that God speaks "through us" and that we have spent the time required to rightly divide the Word of God so that we are rightly discerning the Will of God. For those under our leadership, as they seek God, part of that seeking is "trusting" that we as leaders are also seeking the Lord and desiring His will! They trust that in our personal lives we are sincere and want to please God, maybe even more so than they do. Do we realize that if we are wandering in our relationship with God and not waiting on God, if we are seeking to please ourselves and not seeking to please Him, this will result in shame to us, but also to His people.  Oh yes, eventually the leader will be disciplined by the Lord, but in the meantime His people can be dishonored in that process. 

We must pray for ourselves to always wait on God and seek Him, but we must also pray FOR His people...that our leadership will bless, encourage, and honor them!  When we pray, it's not just about us!