If you are a leader, there are many aspects of your role that may be consuming your thinking. You are thinking about how to reach more people, how to help a man who is facing a challenge, the logistics for your upcoming event, how you are going to pay the bills, who is going to speak, or even how you are ever going to get all of this done when you have so little time to do it.
These thoughts and strategies are important, but there is one piece that is the most important and often the most neglected element for every leadership team … Prayer!
Of course, many of you know this, but do we really live it?
Tim Keller said, “Prayer—though it is often draining, even an agony—is in the long term the greatest source of power that is possible.”
Why Pray?
I think there is often something inside of us that knows we should pray, but there is a part of our flesh that just wants to get on with planning and solving the problems we face and the ministry we are trying to accomplish.
Prayer is what grounds us in the reality that we are not in the business of doing more activity just for the sake of it – we are in the business of helping men to encounter Jesus more than we are in the business of planning any activity.
Prayer helps us to always be focused on the truth that we are not able to change anyone’s life – only God can help a man be conformed to the image of Jesus.
Prayer reminds us that we can do nothing apart from Jesus – we need the power of God to flow in us and through us.
Where To Start
My encouragement for building a culture of prayer in your leadership team is that every single meeting you have should start with prayer – and I don’t mean the token, “God bless our meeting tonight” prayer. I mean genuine, focused prayer.
So, starting with your next Leadership Team meeting, I challenge you to take the following steps:
- Ask the other leaders to talk about one area they are struggling and need prayer for.
- Pray specifically for what you are asking God to do in the lives of the men in your church.
- Identify 3-5 men who are part of your church and ask them how you can be praying for them – and do it in your next meeting!
- After you have prayed for the men, then you can move to praying for God’s blessing on the activities you are planning.
Let’s be leaders who are pursuing the greatest source of power that is possible.
About
