How to Pivot Your Prayer Life

Most of us see prayer as a thing to check off of our to-do list. We pray to talk to God with no expectation to hear back from him. But, God never intended for our prayer time to be a mumbling moment that adds limited value to our day. Prayer can be a conversation. In the era of Covid-19 and quarantine, prayer must be a conversation for the believer who is an entrepreneur. I have heard so many business owners discuss how they are augmenting their businesses to deal with coronavirus. And yet, I haven't heard much about how bosses are using their faith to tackle this hard time.

So, how do you turn your "God is good, God is great" ritual into discourse with the Creator that changes your business? This post below is meant to give you a roadmap to changing the fabric of your prayer life. This pivot will not only step up your prayer game but it will also take your business strategy from self-constructed to God-constructed. But, before I get into the checklist and the resources let me say this; You are not going to get far if you are unwilling to surrender in this season. Surrender your ideas of what you could have done in the absence of this crisis. Surrender your expectations of how you, your clients and your staff are supposed to be handling this season. But, most importantly, surrender your idea of what your business is. This pandemic may have been the very thing God was waiting on for you to come into the fullness of His will.

Sis, Be Quiet
My prayer life changed when I learned to shut up. There is a practice of prayer that I believe every Christian should learn called Contemplative Prayer. There are no ordinances or examples of contemplative prayer expressed explicitly in the Bible. But, God’s Word is filled with scripture about us quieting ourselves. Those scriptures, along with the sheer magnitude of God, cause us to pause and reflect on the Bible as a form of surrender to God.

We need not always come in God’s presence with mouths open. Sometimes our deliverance, healing or answers are found in our silence. When we quiet ourselves, we can focus in on the real star of the show. What I love about the sovereignty of God is that he gave us His words to focus on. We don’t sit silently staring into confusion. We can rest and contemplate on His voice: the Bible. One scripture that we can always contemplate on when in this mode of prayer is Psalms 46:10. "Be still and know that I am God."

When we truly still ourselves, we can begin to know God more deeply, more intimately. Our relationship goes from a distant love to one that is near to us; simply because we stop shouting into nothing and start communicating with our King. God is not silent! We get to hear him every time we go in His Word. And when we dare to quiet the Earth’s noise and focus on heavenly words, we find ourselves caught up in the eternal arms of God’s presence. Have you ever sat silently listening to music? Your silence gave rise to the beauty of the notes. How much more peaceful will the beauty of God’s Word sound in your silence before him? We rest in silence, contemplating on the Word God has given us, hearing the gift of His love over the noise of our minds.

There are so many great ways to implement this type of prayer into your life. I currently use Hallow to facilitate my quiet time with God. The app has a lot of great ways to use deep breathing and contemplative prayer to ramp up your prayer life.

Prayer and the Tithe of Your Time.
An easy way to pivot your prayer life is to simply pray more. Not long ago, I was convicted by a teaching that asked how much of my time I spent with the Lord. The pastor mentioned the believer's responsibility to tithe. As he illustrated how our time is just as important to God as our income, I had to wonder if my daily time with the Lord was adding up. Do you spend two hours and 25 minutes in prayer and devotion with God? If not, don't feel bad. How many of us turn on a stopwatch as we pray? But, I can say this. The more time I spend with God, the clearer my choices and business strategy become. So, maybe it won't be two and half hours. You may start with 30 minutes of prayer twice a week. Wherever you start, just start. Don't let another day go by without considering that God wants time with you. And if you're like me and the concept of tithing your time is a reality check, ask the Lord to reveal to you how to make room for Him in your daily schedule.

Pray Over Your Business
This may seem like an obvious one. But so many of us are not praying for our businesses! I don't mean saying, "Lord help me!" as you write an email. I mean spending time with your heart turned toward God concerning your business. We wait until we are in crisis, or until we are hitting a wall, to get a Word from God. Your business matters to God. I'll tell you what was the thing that solidified this for me. I wanted to offer therapy to the members of 31:17. Instead of trying to Google my way to an answer, I prayed. I prayed for my business as if it were a person who had just gotten sick. I went to war with the enemy over who would offer the service. And you know what happened, God provided. I scrolled on IG and the wonderful Christina Robertson appeared. She was exactly what we needed. That business decision was easy to make because prayer was the strategy.

Expect An Answer
I have no doubt in my mind that if you spend more time praying specifically for your business and spend more time in silence with God you will get an answer. NO KIDDING! It's that simple. Doubt can be a sneaky little thing. At times, instead of being a bold red flag, it shows up in our failure to do. If you find yourself struggling to find the time, or constantly distracted during your contemplative prayer time, be encouraged. I also challenge you to up your faith. Expect God will show up for you as you show up with your heart open. Expectation or faith is the invitation for God to do his thing. If you want to start seeing some results in your prayer life, start taking away your back up plans.

Boss Believher Prayer List
Here's a list of topics for the Boss Believher to pray over concerning business. You'll need more things to prayer about anyway since you are increasing your time in prayer.

1. Wisdom (This prayer will cover the bases in so many areas.)
2. Ideas and Vision (Ask God to refresh your creativity daily. Then write down what he gives you!)
3. Your skills. (Ask God to expand you into areas that will give you a greater capacity to glorify him.)
4. Your Business Plan (Consult God like he is your Business Development Manager)
5. Your Team (Even if you don't have one yet, prayer over the women that God will allow you to use as you expand.)
6. Your Customers' Health and Wealth (God gives provision for the vision. Don't be afraid to ask God to expand your customers.)
7. Your vendors (Who are the people that help you offer your service or product? Sis, Shopify counts.)
8. Your Banking Institution (You want your money covered in the Blood.)
9. Your competitors (The Bible says pray for your enemies, boo.)
10. The U.S. Economy (It is so easy to focus on yourself but you are a part of a much larger ecosystem. We pray for women entrepreneurs as a whole because as God expands women across the globe, He expands us)

Proverbs 3:5-10 is a great place to park your car as you think of how to pivot your prayer life. Be on the lookout for our Boss Believher Bible Study for this passage.

5Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. 7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.8 Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones. 9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. 10 Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.