A Passion for Prayer - Leadership 101: Pray
Are you a leader? If you need help, the answer is yes. Everyone is a leader in some sense. As a husband, you lead your home. As a mother, you lead your children in their father’s absence. If you are single, you have to lead yourself. You may lead in your classroom or on the field of competition. You may lead in the workplace or in your church. Everyone is a leader in some sense. If you are a Christian, your leadership always has a spiritual aspect.
Over the years, I have read plenty of books on leadership. Some good. Some bad. Ultimately, I have always benefited as I discern what to keep and throw out. It is always fascinating to see how many secular leadership principles flow from biblical principles. My favorite book on leadership is Spurgeon on Spiritual Leadership by Steve Miller. As a pastor, Mr. Spurgeon explains, among other topics, how a commitment to holiness, a heart to serve, a willingness to suffer, and a resolve to endure are essential to fruitful, Christ-exalting leadership. Guess where he begins? That’s right, prayer. Chapter One is A Passion for Prayer. Listen to Spurgeon’s passion for prayer come through in his own words:
The minister who does not earnestly pray over his work must be a vain and conceited man. He acts as if he thought himself sufficient of himself, and therefore needed not to appeal to God.
For Spurgeon, leadership began on one’s knees. Why? Humility is vital to leadership. Prayer is the most significant expression of humility one can experience. As a leader, people look to you. They depend on you. They willingly follow you. In the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 2:16-17—Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not. No matter what place of leadership you are in, prayer is a personal and humble expression of your need for the power and grace of God to lead (2 Chronicles 7:14). Prayer transfers the focus from self to God, who is our wisdom, strength, and source of fruitfulness. Whether you are a pastor or not, prayer is a cry from the heart—I need you, Lord, for I am not sufficient, but you are!
Whatever form your leadership takes, the home, workplace, or church, may prayer never be a secondary activity. By the grace of God, let our most extraordinary efforts in leading, whomever we lead, however we lead, wherever we lead, be on our knees in passionate prayer for the Lord to bear fruit through us for His glory (John 15:8)!
-Derek