How Can I Pray for You?

How Can I Pray for You Today?

Do you want to be part of what God is doing in the earth right now?

Most people do. I bump into them all the time. There are talkers, and there are doers, and then there's a much bigger group: people like you and me who want to do something but don't know how. If that's you, I have good news.

It is truly easier than you think.

Listen to the podcast here: heaveninbusiness.com/podcast

Bottom line up front:

1. Meet somebody and pray with them.
2. Ask them their story and their biggest challenge, pray together, and set a time to meet again.
3. Tell stories of what you see God do. Then repeat them.

That's it. That's the whole strategy. Let me show you what it looks like in real life.

The Furniture Store

We recently met a businesswoman at a local church - she works in sales at a furniture shop. When I connected with her, she mentioned she had a customer she had been working with for several weeks, and that the long-anticipated sale was supposed to close that day. So I prayed and agreed with her on the spot. And as I prayed, I felt inspired to ask God not just to do enough, but to do more, to send someone additional to that sale, to demonstrate her favor and unusual advantage.

That day, the expected sale happened. Then a spontaneous customer walked in and a second, unexpected sale closed, making it the best month so far!

If that happened once, it would be a great story. But here's the crazy part. I bumped into her again recently, and she'd had her quietest week ever. So we stopped, remembered the earlier testimony, and prayed again: God, send somebody in today.

The next thing we heard? A significant furniture sale - that same day.

What's the point? It's not me. The grace of God reflects His character, not mine. My obedience, simply showing up and saying, "I'm with you, and I'm going to pray the favor of God over you," that's the part I get to play. Even Jesus said, "Of Myself I can do nothing." But there's power in praying, and power in remembering the testimony and praying it again.

What about you?

The Cornfield

My friend is a fourth-generation corn farmer in Illinois. He heard stories of people walking through orchards praying over apples, praying over pizza ovens, and seeing God do remarkable things through the simple power of prayer. So he started walking his fields and praying over his corn.

When they scout corn before harvest, they count the rows of kernels on each cob. In four generations of farming, his family had only ever grown 14 to 16 rows per cob.

This year? Twenty.

Same fertilizer. Same sprays. Same production practices. Same everything - except prayer.

What about you?

The Gap Nobody Is Talking About

Here's what the research shows. A recent Barna Group study with Faith Driven Entrepreneur found:

• Nine out of ten pastors feel a responsibility and call to equip the people in their pews for purpose, destiny, and vocation.
• Only four out of ten know how.
• Only one in five business people would even consider going to their pastor for input on vocation and calling.

And here's the kicker: business people in their place of work are trusted nine times more than politicians and two times more than pastors as a voice of influence.

Pastors: your greatest untapped missionaries are sitting in your pews right now.

Business people: you keep waiting for somebody else to do this. It's you. You have more trust, more influence, and more favor than you realize.

In the Arena

Teddy Roosevelt said it over a century ago:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood... who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

You get to choose. Are you going to be among those who do something, or among those who talk about the ones who do?

I'd rather be the dusty one in the arena getting it wrong than the critic on the sidelines writing posts about those who are trying.

So What Do I Actually Do?

1. Pray with somebody. This week. It's six words: "How can I pray for you?" That's the whole thing. Grab someone you're already in a relationship with- your neighbor, a colleague, the person beside you. Ask the question. Then pray for them on the spot- not later, not "I'll be praying for you." Right there. Pray Psalm 20 favor over them: that God would answer them in the day of trouble, send help, and fulfill their purpose. Pray Psalm 91 protection. Pray blessing. Talk like you're having a conversation if you need to. Just do it.
2. Meet with someone and don't leave without the next meeting on the calendar. Pastors, here's how you equip your business people, and it's simpler than you think. You don't need a business degree. They need encouragement and clarity: clarity for what's next and the courage to do it. Ask the Holy Spirit: Which business person should I meet with this week? Then go to them in their place of work. Ask: What's your story? What's your greatest challenge right now? What opportunities are you facing? Then pray together, and do not leave that meeting until you've set the next one. "How about four weeks from now? What if I brought another business person and the three of us prayed for one another?"
3. Tell stories of what God is doing, and repeat them. Ask each other: What are you seeing God do? Favor in furniture sales. Twenty rows of corn. Share the testimonies rather than getting hung up on what isn't happening yet. Testimony builds faith, and faith prays again.
4. Join us in Dallas at the end of August. If this is provoking you, that's an invitation to increase. Don't stay in the stands shouting at the ones in the arena- jump in, or at least cheer them on.

And here's our offer: bring your pastor, and we'll pay for the pastor. Pastors, if you bring your business people, same deal, you come free. We're hosting a special side session for pastors to gain discernment together about what God is doing and how to equip, train, activate, and deploy the greatest untapped missionary force in your city: the business community.

We've spent over 15 years learning this as a self-funded business pastor in a city where, in the words of the president of the local Economic Development Corporation, there was "previously only animosity toward that church, and now there's only admiration." We're building a toolkit based on everything we've learned, and we want to put it in your hands.

It Really Is Easier Than You Think

Of myself, I can do nothing. But with God, nothing is impossible.

Find someone. Ask six words. Pray. Set the next meeting. Tell the story.

Let's see what God will do.

Want to know more, or help your pastor activate the business people in their congregation? Get in touch with us: [email protected] - and meet us in Dallas at the Heaven in Business Conference.