ESSENCE:  Prayer is essential in equipping leaders to face the spiritual challenges of leading an organization to faithfully “do right” through business a better way in a fallen world dominated by business as usual, and it is one of the six Covert-Overt Continuums of Integriosity^®.  The Prayer Continuum should always be the very first one addressed by leaders pursuing business a better way, because Prayer will facilitate the heart-change in leaders needed to RENEW their understanding of God’s purpose for work and business, it will guide how those leaders RE-IMAGINE the Purpose, Values and Culture of the organization and it will guide how they address and implement RE-ALIGNMENT along the other five Continuums.  Although Prayer can take many different forms, depending on the discernment of the leader and the existing culture of the leadership team and the organization, the same God who calls leaders to faithfully “do right” through business a better way will be present to guide, equip and protect those who are called.

In the last six posts (#086, #087, #088, #089, #090 and #091), we began to explain the first three of the five key ingredients for executing a Re-Imagined Purpose, Re-Imagined Values and a Re-Imagined Culture–a Flexible Approach, Intentional Leaders and Trust in God. This post will consider a fourth–Prayer.

Re-Align Ingredient #4:  The Importance of Prayer for Leaders

The importance of Prayer in leading an organization to faithfully “do right” seems so obvious that some may say “do you really need a post on this topic?”  But Prayer is so important to leading an organization to faithfully “do right” that the answer is “YES!”

A reminder to Pray is necessary because unfortunately many faith-driven leaders do not associate God with organizational decisions.  Oswald Chambers observed:

In spiritual issues it is customary for us to put God first, but we tend to think that it is inappropriate and unnecessary to put Him first in the practical, everyday issues of our lives.

Chambers warns “Don’t plan without God. . . . We get ourselves into circumstances that were not chosen by God, and suddenly we realize that we have been making our plans without Him—that we have not even considered Him to be a vital, living factor in the planning of our lives.”

Dr. Skip Moen goes so far as to assert that Prayer is required to Humanize us–it is required to move us toward God’s design rather than our own self-made design.  If one of the three bigger WHY’s for an organization is to Humanize People, how can leaders move the organization toward that goal if they aren’t themselves becoming more fully human through Prayer?  If the goal of faithfully “doing right” through business a better way is to move the organization toward God’s design rather than the world’s design of business as usual, how can leaders hope to succeed without Prayer?

If I am going to become human, I must move in the direction of the divine design in me.  That does not happen by random chance or automatic pilot.  I must decide to become human.  That is essentially what it means to have free will, to be able to choose.  I can move toward God’s design innately implanted in me, or I can move away from His design, forging a self-made creature fashioned by lesser purposes.  I am equipped to manifest God’s design.  He has insured that I lack nothing necessary for this project.  But accomplishing the task of becoming human requires a continual connection to the Maker. . . .  Therefore, prayer . . . is the absolutely necessary ingredient for being what God intended.  The man who does not pray will soon not be a man.

If Chambers and Moen are not convincing enough, the Bible is full of guidance on the topic of leaders seeking (or failing to seek) God’s guidance.  Here are just a few:

But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. (Jeremiah 7:24)

For the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered. (Jeremiah 10:21)

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. (Isaiah 30:21)

Re-Align Ingredient #4:  The Role of Prayer in an Organization

In our last post (Trust in God), we explored three types of challenges that will be faced by a leader committed to faithfully “doing right” through business a better way.  In each case, a leader will be facing those challenges with both hands tied behind their back (and possibly blindfolded with their feet bound) without seeking God’s guidance, protection and provision through prayer.  Although these challenges may come in the form of human resistance and resistance from worldly systems, the Bible tells us that these challenges are spiritual:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  (Ephesians 6:12)

We identified these challenges as resistance, dilemmas and risks.

• Resistance.  Resistance to leading an organization to faithfully “do right” through business a better way will come because it challenges the “given structures of the social order” in a fallen world of business as usual characterized by assumptions of Profit as Purpose, Scarcity and Self-Interest.  With Prayer, God can break through that resistance.
• Dilemmas.  Because an organization is operating in a fallen world, there may not be “easy answers” to organizational challenges–leaders are likely to be faced with choices that involve two imperfect alternatives.  Through Prayer, God can provide creative “third-way” solutions to dilemmas, such as reconciling business a better way with profitable sustainability in the world’s systems.
• Risks.  Risks are necessary when facing resistance and resolving dilemmas in line with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities.  Through Prayer, God’s favor can protect leaders and organizations facing such risks.

Through Prayer, leaders can face resistance, dilemmas and risks with the promise in Ephesians 4:7: “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds.”  In his book Why Business Matters to God, Jeff Van Duzer rightly suggests that the same God who calls leaders to faithfully “do right” through business a better way will be present to equip those who are called:

We are not expected to fulfill the creation and redemption mandates in business relying solely on our own wisdom, judgment and perseverance. The same God who calls us to these high standards provides us with access to the discernment and power that will enable us to fulfill them.

Re-Align Ingredient #4:  Prayer in and for Organizations

Prayer is important for the humanity of all people, and Prayer is essential in equipping leaders to face the spiritual challenges of leading an organization to faithfully “do right” through business a better way in a fallen world dominated by business as usual.  But what does Prayer in and for an organization look like?

As you may recall from post #086 (Flexible Approach), Prayer is one of the six Covert-Overt Continuums of Integriosity.  The Prayer Continuum should also be the very first one addressed by leaders pursuing business a better way, because Prayer will facilitate the heart-change in leaders needed to RENEW their understanding of God’s purpose for work and business, it will guide how those leaders RE-IMAGINE the Purpose, Values and Culture of the organization and it will guide how they address and implement RE-ALIGNMENT along the other five Continuums.  Prayer can take many different forms, depending on the discernment of the leader and the existing culture of the leadership team and the organization.

• Individual Prayer.  At an absolute minimum, the person leading the organization’s movement toward business a better way must be praying regularly for the organization, for its various stakeholders, for the removal of resistance, for creative solutions to dilemmas, for favor in taking risks and for guidance in making decisions, no matter how inconsequential.   Turning once again to Jeff Van Duzer:

Christians should seek and expect the Spirit’s guidance when deciding whether to make an acquisition, whether to hire an intern, whether to set up an online distribution channel, whether to skip a meeting and the like. It means that God’s Spirit can be called on to clothe the businessperson with power as he or she calls on a potential new customer, builds a new manufacturing facility, markets a new product line, negotiates a contract or resists the temptation to cut an ethical corner.

• Group Prayer.  In addition to praying individually and privately, a leader should consider gathering a group of colleagues to pray as a group.  This group might be a small group of leaders praying privately without telling others in the organization, a group that is open to other employees, a group that is closed but made known to others in the organization, or some other format prayerfully deemed most appropriate for the organization at a point in time after.  These are all points along the Prayer Continuum, which can change over time.
• Third-Party Intercessory Prayer.  Another form of Prayer “support” for the challenges that will face leaders pursuing business a better way is intercessory prayer by a third party.  In post #064 (Humility–A Key To Wisdom), we wrote about a business called Divine Exchange, based in Canada.  Divine Exchange provides intercessory prayer services for leaders and businesses.  Third-party intercessory prayer might also be provided by volunteers such as a church prayer group (keeping in mind issues of confidentiality).

The first, middle and last steps in executing business a better way in alignment with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities is continually to seek guidance, protection and assistance through Prayer—from the ultimate CEO and owner of the organization.

SPOILER ALERT:   Even with Prayer and Trust, leading an organization to faithfully “do right” will take time.  Our next post will explore the final key ingredient to the RE-ALIGN step of Integriosity–Patience.

PERSONAL NOTE (from PM):   Several years ago, a friend shared with me the difficult way he learned the importance of seeking God’s direction before making business decisions.  He had boldly started a real estate business and developed an office building in a major metropolitan area during the time of sky-high interest rates.  After completion, the building sat empty, threatening the viability of his business and severely draining his personal finances.  One day while he was driving and observing his empty building from a distance, in desperation he prayed to God about his failing business and precarious finances and asked God why the building remained empty.  He sensed a voice say “Did you ever seek my guidance before building it?”  He hadn’t–he had been a person of faith who had not crossed the “Sunday/Monday” gap in this decision.  Following that revelation, he miraculously identified an exit from the investment and went on to start a very successful faith-driven business. He later devoted his “retirement” years to teaching young business leaders about the integration of faith and business.  (He said the office building was the last business decision he ever made without prayer.)

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