Prayer for Shepherds
Mere Men, Faithful Shepherds (Devin H. Dunn)
Acts 14:8-23
Big Idea: Christ builds and strengthens his church through prayer by raising up ordinary, brave, and faithful shepherds.
Acts 14 gives us a kind of monument in the history of the church. Paul and Barnabas are completing the first missionary journey, the gospel is spreading into new cities, disciples are being made, and local churches are being established.
Throughout Acts, prayer is never merely an accessory to the church. The church is born in prayer, strengthened in prayer, sent in prayer, and led in prayer. And here, at the end of this missionary journey, Luke tells us that Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in every church “with prayer and fasting.”
This is not simply a historical detail. The pattern continues. Christ still builds his church by raising up shepherds among his people.
Acts 14 shows us three kinds of men the church should pray for: ordinary men who share good news, brave men who strengthen disciples, and commissioned men who shepherd the church.
I. Pray for Ordinary Men Who Share Good News (14:8–18)
Paul and Barnabas arrive in Lystra, a frontier city with little Jewish influence and deep roots in pagan religion. As Paul preaches, he sees a man who has been unable to walk from birth and heals him.
The crowd immediately interprets the miracle through the worldview they already know.
They call Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes. The priest of Zeus arrives with animals and intends to offer sacrifices to them.
The response of Paul and Barnabas is immediate and dramatic. They tear their garments, run into the crowd, and cry:
Acts 14:15: “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news.”
They refuse to be worshiped.
That response tells us something essential about Christian leadership.
The shepherds who helped establish the first churches were ordinary men.
They were sinners who needed the same gospel they preached. Their authority did not come from being extraordinary human beings but from faithfully pointing people toward an extraordinary God.
There are always two temptations surrounding leadership:
People are tempted to worship their leaders.
Leaders are tempted to enjoy being worshiped.
The gospel destroys both.
Paul and Barnabas insist, “We are also men, of like nature with you.”
Only God is worthy of worship.
And unlike the pagan myths surrounding Lystra, the true God really did come down from heaven. He took on flesh, entered the world of sinners, and came not to destroy them but to save them.
Christian shepherds therefore follow the pattern of John the Baptist:
John 3:30: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
The church does not need celebrity pastors, impressive personalities, or men who cultivate spiritual superiority.
It needs ordinary men who know they need grace and who faithfully proclaim the good news of Jesus.
Pray for ordinary men who believe the gospel and share it faithfully.
II. Pray for Brave Men Who Strengthen Disciples (14:19–22)
The mood in Lystra changes almost instantly.
The same crowd that wanted to worship Paul is persuaded by opponents from Antioch and Iconium to stone him.
They drag Paul outside the city and leave him for dead.
Yet after the disciples gather around him, Paul gets up and goes back into the city.
The next day he travels to Derbe and continues preaching.
Then, remarkably, Paul and Barnabas retrace their journey through the same cities where they had faced persecution.
Luke tells us why:
Acts 14:22: They were “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith.”
Shepherds do not merely preach the gospel and move on.
They stay with people long enough to make and strengthen disciples.
Paul’s courage was not driven by a love of conflict or suffering. He was willing to endure hardship because the people of God needed shepherding.
His message to them was not sentimental:
“Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
Paul strengthened believers by telling them the truth.
The gospel guarantees the Christian’s future in the kingdom of God, but it does not promise an easy path into that kingdom.
Every generation therefore needs shepherds courageous enough to preach the whole counsel of God—sin and grace, repentance and forgiveness, holiness and suffering, the present cost of discipleship and the future hope of glory.
Faithful shepherds cannot be controlled by applause or rejection.
One day the crowd may praise them. The next day the crowd may oppose them.
Their calling remains the same.
They get up and continue strengthening the sheep.
Pray for brave men who love people enough to tell them the truth and strengthen them to endure.
III. Pray for Commissioned Men Who Shepherd the Church (14:23)
Paul and Barnabas could not remain in every city.
The gospel had been preached. Disciples had been made and baptized. Churches had been gathered.
Now those churches needed shepherds.
Acts 14:23 says:
“When they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
This moment is the climax of the missionary journey.
The goal was not merely converts.
The goal was established churches with faithful local shepherds.
Paul and Barnabas prayerfully recognized qualified men from among the disciples and entrusted them with the care of the church.
This involved discernment, fasting, prayer, recognition, and commissioning.
And Luke’s language is significant:
They appointed elders in every church.
Biblical eldership was not reserved for especially large or mature congregations. It was part of the ordinary structure Christ established for the care of his people.
God’s design is that qualified men should be:
Prayed for. Discerned. Developed. Recognized. Commissioned. Entrusted with the flock.
The pattern of Acts 14 did not end with Paul and Barnabas.
The gospel continued beyond Jerusalem and Antioch. Churches were planted across the world. And wherever Christ gathers his people, there remains a need for faithful shepherds.
The local church should therefore continually pray that Christ would raise up qualified men from among his people who will care for his flock.
Pray for commissioned men who faithfully shepherd the local church.
Conclusion
Acts 14 reminds us that we have inherited a story that began long before us.
The gospel has traveled to the ends of the earth. Churches continue to gather. Disciples continue to be made. And Christ continues to raise up shepherds for his people.
The foundation has not changed.
Christ builds his church through prayer. Christ strengthens his church through prayer. Christ raises up shepherds through prayer.
So we pray for the kind of men we see in Acts 14:
Ordinary men who share good news. Brave men who strengthen disciples. Commissioned men who shepherd the church.
And when Christ answers those prayers by raising up faithful shepherds among us, the church should recognize them, encourage them, entrust them with the flock, and continue praying for them.
Application Questions
Do I expect too much from church leaders in ways that belong only to Christ? Have I placed a pastor, elder, or ministry leader on a pedestal that no ordinary man can sustain?
Do I pray regularly for the shepherds of my church? What specifically should I be asking God to produce in their lives?
Am I willing to receive hard biblical truth from faithful shepherds, or only teaching that comforts and affirms me?
How do I respond when church leaders disappoint me or show their ordinary humanity? Does my response reflect the gospel?
Am I helping create a church culture that raises up future shepherds? Who around me might need encouragement, discipleship, or opportunities to grow in leadership?
If God called me to serve his church at greater personal cost, would comfort, reputation, fear, or criticism keep me from obeying?