Art Toombs Ministries
Online Bible Commentary
Pray for Spiritual Leaders
Hebrews 13:15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. 17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. 18 Pray for us; for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably. 19 But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner. (NKJV)
The early Eastern Church (Dionysius and Clement, both of Alexandria), from the second century, claimed Paul was the writer of Hebrews. The Western Church later agreed.
Luke translated the letter to the Hebrews into Greek, according to Clement in the second century. Luke was with Paul during his second Roman imprisonment and was his amanuensis during Paul’s final days (2 Timothy 4:11).
It is likely that Luke was also Paul’s amanuensis for this letter. My conclusion is that this was Paul’s last writing, written in late A.D. 67-early A.D.68
In this letter, Paul is writing to Hebrews who have converted to Christianity from Judaism. Family and friends are likely pressuring them to return to Judaism, so Paul is writing to these Hebrew Christians to encourage them to remain steadfast in their faith and not to return to Judaism.
The book of Hebrews is divided into two main topics Through Hebrews 10:18 the topic is the superiority of Christ to Judaism. The rest of the book is devoted to exhortations to obedient living, a fitting conclusion to Paul’s writings.
Initially, in this second topic, Paul gave examples of great men and women of faith who were honored for their obedient living. Now, he is exhorting these Hebrew Christians to obedient living.
In this passage, He is encouraging them in their Christian faith, while, at the same time, discouraging them from returning to Judaism. Here, he is exhorting them to obedient living in their spiritual life with three rules. These rules for obedient living not only apply to the first century Hebrew Christians, but also to today’s Christians.
Paul begins by writing “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God” (v. 15a). The first rule is to continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, through Jesus. Jesus is our intermediary.
Our prayers go through Him to God the Father. He may alter or change our prayers for the best, in order to be suitable for the Father.
So, we are to continually offer our praise to God. That means that we should praise God through all that we do.
We should praise Him in prayer and worship. But we should also praise Him as we go about our daily activities.
Paul continues with “that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name”. Our praise is from the fruit of lips that openly profess his name (v. 15b). This is a reference to His people, Christians.
Next, Paul writes “But do not forget to do good and to share” (v. 16a). This is the way we praise Him with our works, by doing good and sharing not only our treasure, but also our testimony, with others.
Paul continues with “For with such sacrifices God is pleased” (v. 16b). Through our sacrifice of praise, we please God.
The second rule of obedience in this passage is to “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive” (v. 17a). This is a reference to our spiritual leaders, those who teach us the word of God.
Christians should place their confidence in the teaching of their leaders. They should also submit to the authority of their leaders.
Paul continues “for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account” (v. 17b). These leaders are ordained by God to teach. They are accountable to God for their teaching and for us.
He continues with “Let them do so with joy and not with grief” (v. 17c). The reason for having confidence in and submitting to our spiritual leaders is so that their work will be a joy, not a burden.
Paul finishes the verse with “for that would be unprofitable for you” (v. 17d). It would not benefit us, or our leaders, for their work to be a burden for them. However, just as with our government leaders, Christians should never submit to any authority that contradicts the teaching of the Bible.
Next, Paul writes “Pray for us” (v. 18a). The third rule for obedient living, given in this passage, is to pray for our spiritual leaders.
Paul is specifically is asking for prayers for “us”. He is referring to himself and those who are helping with his ministry. Paul had several ministry associates helping him during the 60’s A.D., while he was in and out of prison.
Paul continues with “for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to live honorably” (v. 18b). In asking for prayer for himself and his friends, Paul attests that they are worthy of such prayer.
Paul completes this passage by writing “But I especially urge you to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner” (v. 19). Paul even has a personal prayer request, that he may be restored to his Christian friends sooner. This may be a reference to him being released from prison.
We all need to pray for our spiritual leaders. Spiritual leaders need prayer as much or more than anyone.
They are at the top of Satan’s hit list. They can cause more damage to Christianity than anyone else.
So, Satan specifically targets Christian leaders. Please include them in your prayers daily.