1 Thessalonians 2:7-8
as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.

These words of the Apostle Paul would also be the words of most pastors. I pray for every person in our church every week. I often agonize and grieve in my prayers as I intercede about bad marriages, addictions, lukewarm relationships with Christ, cancer and other health issues, jobs and finance problems. I pray for protection from the devil, and that God will make His will known  when people are struggling with right choices. I faithfully intercede for family members that are not believers that God would draw them to Himself. The result of the hours I spend each week laboring earnestly for people is that I become very attached to them. I have about 1,500  people in my IPad prayer journal with pictures of most people. Jesus declared that He was the good shepherd who laid his life down for the sheep. He also said that He knew his sheep by name. On the other hand the hired hand was not concerned about the sheep and when he saw the wolf coming he fled. Loving that many people is a load I often wish I didn’t have to carry, but on the other hand I wouldn’t have it any other way. There probably isn’t a time that I sense the Lord’s pleasure in me more than when I am agonizing over wandering sheep.