Every leader I know aspires to be a good leader. They want to lead their people to the best of their abilities with the direction of God.
Many attend school for years to learn how to be a good leader. Then once they begin their roles as leaders, they continue their training by attending workshops, seminars, conferences, retreats and special events, all in an attempt to be a good leader.
Some become part of a group of leaders that meets regularly to help each other be good leaders. Some leaders have a mentor or hire a coach to help them be good leaders.
If you spend any time talking with a leader in ministry, it will not be long before you hear of all the things they are doing as they try to lead their people well. You hear about books or blogs they are reading, podcasts they listen to, twitter feeds they follow, all in an attempt to stay relevant and be effective as a leader.
There is one topic, however, that I hear too few Christian leaders talking about as essential to their leadership: prayer.
When was the last time you had a conversation with a leader who talked as excitedly about the pursuit of their prayer life to help them be a good leader as they talked about the book they were reading, workshop they had attended or podcast they listened to?
As a ministry leader, prayer should be the thing you most depend on for guidance in being a good leader. The leadership responsibilities you have were given to you by God. Therefore, seeking God’s guidance and direction through prayer on a daily basis should be the priority in seeking to be a good leader.
Some might say, “Prayer is something private, between me and God. Jesus even warned about not making a big deal in public about your prayer life and encouraged His followers to pray in secret.” (Matt. 6: 5-7) However, Jesus wasn’t telling us we should not let others know that we regularly pray and that prayer is central to who we are.
“We see Jesus praying often in the midst of many different types of circumstances. For example, He prays while making decisions, confronting difficult situations, doing miracles, suffering emotional distress, and interceding for his disciples. Jesus is in constant communion with God as He ministers to others.” (Carolyn Taketa)
He was warning against making a public spectacle of our prayer time and making it all about us. As Max Lucado observes,
“It’s always a mistake to try to impress people with your knowledge or your eloquence in prayer. I just don’t see that there’s ever a time to use prayer for self-promotion. And people have a keen sense for hypocrisy from a church leader. They sniff it out. It really discredits a minister when he or she uses prayer, of all things, as a time to display their spirituality.”
On a scale of 1-10, one being the lowest and 10 the highest, how important would you say prayer is to you as a leader?
Now using the same scale, how would you say you are doing with the practice of prayer?
Do you see any inconsistencies between the importance and your practice? What steps can you start taking today to close the gap?
If you would like help in achieving your goals as a leader or in any area of your life, call us at 208-880-0307 or email us at errol@errolcarrim.com to schedule a complimentary coaching session. To read Errol’s other posts, visit Christ-Centered Life Coaching.