Prayer in Business: Decision making

Prayer is the key to connect with God, prayer is also the channel to access spiritual blessings from heaven to earth. Jesus said whatever you bound on earth shall be bound in heaven. As written in Matthew;

“I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

Matthew 18:18 NLT

Prayer is the only way you can achieve the above scripture verse and no other way. And note, Jesus said ‘whatever’ which includes your business and every aspect of your life.

Therefore, prayer in business is the way you connect your business endeavour to God.

But why do Christians pray only when they’re faced with trouble beyond their control?

This is why they see prayer as a trouble-rescuing exercise only. So it’s not far-fetched why many Christian entrepreneurs don’t pray often for their business except during crisis. 

Sadly, some Christians barely remember to pray on their own except when in Church or fellowship.

Do you not know prayer was designed to build your relationship with God?

If God is the number one in your life then you ought to pray to Him all the time. Because the first commandment of God says;

“..Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.”

Matthew 22: 37-38.

How do you say you love God when you don’t communicate with Him regularly?

In marketing, one of the best ways to build relationships with customers especially existing ones is through regular relevant communication. It’s a continuous exercise and not seldom.

Most companies invest heavily in communication strategies through social media, email or offline marketing to stay relevant in the minds of their customers.

In the same vein, as a Christian entrepreneur, you should aspire to stay relevant in the mind of God through prayer. You might say, ‘I know God loves me and He already knows what I need, I don’t need to pray all the time.’

First, that’s a terrible misunderstanding of what prayer is, as mentioned earlier, the number one goal of prayer is to connect with God. Secondly, God wants us to pray often as written in 1 Thessalonians;

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

God doesn’t get tired of hearing our prayers 24/7, 365 days. For example, the person you have the strongest relationship is the one you communicate with often.

And even if that person knows a lot about you, that doesn’t stop you from talking to them about it, because you’re confident he/she is pleased to listen to you.

So it’s with God, He’s pleased to listen to us anytime.

Prayer for decision making in business

In addition to connecting with God, prayer is a medium to seek God’s will before making a decision. You can learn from David in the Bible, he usually seeks the Lord before making any decision.

7 instances David sought the Lord for direction;

• Prayer 1: he inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” The Lord answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” 1 Samuel 23:2 NIV  
• Prayer 2: “Then David said, ‘O LORD, God of Israel, your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.’ And the LORD said, ‘He will come down.’”  1 Samuel 23:10-11
• Prayer 3: “So David inquired of the LORD, saying, ‘Shall I pursue this raiding party? Shall I overtake them?’ And He answered him, ‘Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.’” 1 Samuel 30:8
• Prayer 4: “It happened after this that David inquired of the LORD, saying, ‘Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?’ And the LORD said to him, ‘Go up.’ David said, ‘Where shall I go up?’ And He said, ‘To Hebron’” 2 Samuel 2:1
• Prayer 5: So David asked the Lord, “Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The Lord replied to David, “Yes, go ahead. I will certainly hand them over to you.” 2 Samuel 5:19 NLT
• Prayer 6: And again David asked the Lord what to do. “Do not attack them straight on,” the Lord replied. “Instead, circle around behind and attack them near the poplar trees. When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the poplar trees, be on the alert! That will be the signal that the Lord is moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistine army.” 2 Samuel 5:23-24
• Prayer 7: During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the Lord. The Lord said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.” 2 Samuel 21:1

Before taking action

Just as David did in the scriptures above, he prayed to the Lord before making any decision. Before is key because it means you’re seeking His will before making any move in your business.

For example, some Christian entrepreneurs will apply for a contract bid and when they sense the tension of losing out, they remember the need for prayer and then prays to win the contract.

What about seeking the will of God before you applied for the contract?

He would have told you whether it is worth the pursuit or not. Why do we go through headaches that can be avoided? if only we can learn to take everything to God in prayers.

This reminds me of this song “What a friend we have in Jesus” verse 2;

Oh, what peace we often forfeit
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer

Ideally, you should pray first before applying for any contract no matter how short of a notice you have. God is everywhere (Omnipresence) you don’t need to be in church or prayer closet before you pray, right there in your office, car, lobby anywhere you can say a prayer.

Pray and pay attention

Prayer is two-way communication between you and God. Especially a prayer seeking the will of God, you have to pay attention to His response to you.

As noticed in the scriptures, when David prayed, he listened to hear God’s response. We’re still praying to the same God who hears and responds because He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 11:8). God said to Jeremiah;

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”

Jeremiah 29:12

God answers our prayer as discussed in this medium post but the challenge for most Christians is how to listen to God.

God responds to us in different ways, you need to learn your own way through the help of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer in a solitude place

Where we choose to pray sometimes hinders our ability to listen to God’s response. Oh yes, I said earlier you can pray anywhere, that’s true but there are different types of prayers, each has its own unique way of undertaking it.

But as you draw closer to God, you’ll be given the wisdom to know how, when and where to pray on different occasions. Prayer in business to make decision needs quiet time, it’s not a prayer done with the crowd.

Like Jesus, there are times when He prayed with His disciples, in public, other times He goes to a solitary place to pray alone. Mark reads;

In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.

Mark 1:35 

The solitary place is best for prayer that seeks the will of God and to hear Him speak to you. Because it secludes you from the distractions from others.

Although, it’s good to pray with others but there are some prayers you need to have alone.

Importance of Prayer in Business

1. It establishes the will of God in your business

2. It strengthens you. When faced with a difficult situation, only a regular prayer life can pull you through

3. It guides you to have a clearer path 

Takeaway: Christian entrepreneurs shouldn’t underestimate the importance of prayer in business. Prayer will save your business from trouble when you involve the Lord before making any decision in business.