Scripture by topic
Most people who look for verses for a pastor are not pastors. They are the people sitting in the pews — someone writing a card, a wife watching her husband carry a congregation, a member who has noticed the shepherd looks tired.
So this page runs both directions: Scripture to put in front of a pastor, and Scripture to pray over one. If you are the pastor reading this, the last section is yours.
Specific beats long. One of these plus a sentence about something they actually did will outlast any gift.
12 But we ask you, brothers, to acknowledge those who work diligently among you, who preside over you in the Lord and give you instruction.
13 In love, hold them in highest regard because of their work. Live in peace with one another.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13
Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
1 Timothy 5:17
Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31
Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
Jeremiah 3:15
Paul — the strongest Christian most of us can name — asked churches to pray for his words and his boldness. Pastors still need exactly those two things.
19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it fearlessly, as I should.
Ephesians 6:19-20
as you pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
Colossians 4:3
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.
2 Timothy 4:2
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Hebrews 13:17
The charge and the promise, in the same passage: shepherd willingly, and the Chief Shepherd is the one holding the crown.
2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but because it is God’s will; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;
3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
1 Peter 5:2-4
Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.
Acts 20:28
12 Let no one despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching.
14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders.
15 Be diligent in these matters and absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.
16 Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
1 Timothy 4:12-16
Do not wait for October. Pick one verse from the first group, write it in a card this week, and add one sentence about a specific sermon, hospital visit or hard year you have not forgotten. Pastors hear plenty about their weeks off. They almost never hear which Tuesday mattered.
A prayer you can borrow
God, thank You for the shepherd You gave us. Guard their heart when the phone rings late, give them words when the well feels dry, and let them lead with joy and not with grief. Encourage them this week through somebody's voice that is not mine. Amen.
Newsletter
We send Scripture and short encouragement for your walk with God — no noise, no selling, unsubscribe in one click.
Our Spiritual Health check is eight questions and about five minutes. It's free, it's private, and it's grace rather than a grade.
No account needed to start · Your answers stay private
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 is the one written for exactly this — it asks a congregation to hold the people who labor among them in the highest regard because of their work. For a card, pair it with Galatians 6:9: do not grow weary in well-doing.
The way Paul asked to be prayed for: for the right words, for boldness, and for open doors (Ephesians 6:19-20, Colossians 4:3). Praying Scripture over a pastor by name, regularly, is worth more than a yearly appreciation gift.
1 Timothy 5:17 says elders who lead well are worthy of double honor, and Hebrews 13:17 asks the church to let its leaders lead with joy rather than grief — which makes honoring a pastor partly the congregation's daily behavior, not only an October card.
Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible, which is free of copyright restrictions for use on websites. Read the full Bible on Great Faith.