You know praying to God is important in life and business, how is it going? Do you struggle with consistently and purposefully talking with God?

Join David today as he reveals what has been a catalyst for growth in his prayer life and what may be a breakthrough for you. That breakthrough is coming to and speaking with God as your Father.

We can address God as many things, but it is when we address him as Father that we connect with him on a personal level. 

God cares for you and knows what you need before you ask it. If that is the case, it’s not about saying the correct words, it's about building the relationship with the God of the universe.

*Warning: Don’t let a bad relationship with your earthly father destroy the beauty and strength of your relationship with your perfect heavenly Father.

Redeem Your Business Today by the Following:

How can we honor God in our business?

Talk with God about your business. Get input and direction from him and do it.

One challenge from today.

Come to God in prayer as your heavenly Father. A Father who really loves you and cares about you.

7 Items to Remember in Prayer 

1. Prayer is Private: Don’t pray for show, be open and honest
2. Make a List: Write down the things you want to pray about to stay focused and intentional
3. Be Consistent: Identify important people or needs and pray for them consistently
4. Prayer is Personal: You are praying to God, your heavenly Father. He is a person. Talk to him as such. 
5. Listen: Prayer is not just speaking; take time to listen to gain wisdom and direction
6. Give Thanks: Give thanks in all things, for all things. God knows what he is doing.
7. This is God’s Kingdom: You are part of God’s larger plan. We are prone to individualistic thinking but need to remember daily, we are here for God’s glory, not our own.

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Leadership GPS: Christian Business Coaching

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What God Says About Business: 5 Uncommon Truths for Modern Business

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What God Says About Business

David:

[0:00] Welcome to Redeeming Business Today. Today is one of those solo episodes where it's just going to be you and me talking about business concepts that help us to redeem our time, redeem our business, and to use our life and business for the glory of God.

David:

[0:15] I often tell my children that their success in life will be a direct correlation to their relationship with God. And as I've been seeking to inspire, educate, and equip business owners to operate their business in a way that glorifies God and advances his kingdom here on this earth, I've been convicted. The conviction is this, that if I truly believe that our relationship with God is important in the success of your business, then why don't I talk about that relationship? And so today is one of those parts where I'm going to do that. And I'm going to talk about how you can increase and deepen and grow your relationship with God. We're going to talk about my number one mindset shift that has made the biggest impact on my spiritual life in the realm of prayer.

David:

[1:06] Just a little background. My journey in the discipline of prayer has been this. I was blessed to be able to grow up in a Christian home. My parents instilled in me the habit of a daily quiet time. A daily quiet time where I'd read my Bible and pray. Well, I will admit as a child and even going into adulthood, I did more reading than praying. Because reading was easy. You just read it and you thought about it and went on. Praying, well, that's communication. You had to think about that. And so I felt I was very strong in my core Bible reading. I was not very strong in my core prayer time and relationship with God that way.

David:

[1:52] Over the years, I've tried different things. I've tried different ways and systems to get more prayer in, so to speak. One time I figured that, hey, I wanted to pray without ceasing. So how about I just pray while I'm driving to work? Pray while I'm driving home from work? And that way I get all this time into praying that I normally wouldn't have. Well, it started out okay. But after a while, I realized I was doing more driving than praying. And I was, again, convicted that if the only time I had to talk to God was while I'm driving, that showed that my relationship with God wasn't that important. Why don't I set aside a time specifically just to pray and talk with God? Good question.

David:

[2:41] As a pastor, I have at times prayed while walking. Walking around the community, praying for the people in the houses in the community and trying to reach people that way. But there again, after a while, I was doing more walking than talking. And if that was the only time I had to pray, I'm trying to do two things at once, three things at once. That's not really cutting it. I've tried kneeling down in prayer, silently in prayer, quietly praying.

David:

[3:18] That works sometimes, but in the past, there's been times where I have been quiet and resting my head and then talking quietly in my head and falling asleep. If you've ever had that happen to you and wake up, you probably felt like I did. You felt horrible. You talk to the God of the universe, pouring out your heart. Well, probably not pouring out your heart if you fall asleep. But you pray to him, talk to him, and then suddenly you fall asleep. Think of going to the governor of your state or the president of the United States and asking and imploring them for help about some great aspect in your business. Trying to get money, funds, protection from people who are trying to destroy business, whatever. Imagine going there and partly through the conversation, you stop, sit down and take a little nap. And then you get up and just startle and continue that conversation. How would that president or the governor feel about you or treat you? I don't know, but I was convicted. And that was a bad thing. Don't fall asleep while you're praying. That should not be the only way in which you pray.

David:

[4:35] I think growing up, maybe it's because of the American mindset. Maybe it's because I'm an analytical thinker. but I feel like I've been trying to figure out what is this right formula for me? What is this right, correct way to pray to God? Well, I realized after a while that, you know what? It's not about a formula. It's not about how you sit or stand or walk or kneel. It's a relationship. Prayer is founded in a relationship. And the number one mindset shift that has made the biggest impact on my life is this, and that prayer is personal.

David:

[5:14] Prayer is personal, and it was that I started to do what Jesus said. He says, when you pray, pray then in this way, our Father which art in heaven. I started to approach God in prayer as my heavenly Father. Now, in the past, I've approach God as the creator, how powerful, the judge, my protector, my provider, and he is all that stuff. But when I do that, it was more like, give me this, help me with that. I really need your help. Thank you very much.

David:

[5:48] But when I approached God as my father, I stepped back a little bit and it's like, you know, I never really have understood that and thought about that. So I correlated it to my earthly father and said, well, how would I talk to my earthly father?

David:

[6:06] Over the years, my dad has passed away now, but starting in college and throughout my life, my married life, I talked to my mom every week and then I talked to my dad every week. He called and we had just a short conversation. and sometimes we talked about the plans I have for that week. Sometimes we talked about the successes or failures of those plans. Sometimes I talked about the needs we were in or I asked for counsel, asked for advice. Sometimes I told him the things that I learned. Sometimes it was reminiscence. Sometimes it's just plain sharing my life and sharing him, sharing his life. That's the kind of things I talked to my dad about.

David:

[6:52] And so I said, what if I did the same thing in my prayer life to God, approached him as my heavenly father, and talked to him about my life? And I realized that that is what prayer is. You're talking to him. You're getting wisdom. You ask for wisdom. James 1.5 says, if you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, and God will give you wisdom.

David:

[7:17] Jesus says in the prayer of Matthew 6, when you pray, Say, give us this day our daily bread. Lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil. There's a very real sense in which God helps you and God wants to help you. And God wants you to talk to him about your needs. But it's not just a one-way street. It's a two-way street. And what's interesting here is that our Father knows the things we need before we ask him.

David:

[7:49] Let me say that again. God, our Father, knows the things that we need before we ask him. And so it's not so much important that you get all these lists of things out that we need from him, because he already knows what we need. He's already there helping us, providing for us, giving us strength to live, giving us wisdom. He's already doing that. But it's that prayer. It's that asking. It's that going to him. It's that submitting to him, realizing that he is the one who gives you these things. and that it's not you yourself. And so approaching God as my father really made a world of difference in my prayer life because it's not just, hey, how you doing? Because you need to approach God reverently in a holy manner. He's not a, hey, dude, how you doing kind of thing. You don't talk to God like that. You talk to him reverently, respectfully, but he is your father.

David:

[8:53] It's the biggest thing that's changed my prayer life, my attitude toward prayer, and effectively helped me to pray better. Now, just to give you a few things that I do in my prayer life that may help you and yours is this.

David:

[9:09] Number one is the prayer is private. Go into your closet. Jesus said, when you pray, don't go into the synagogues or stand in the corner of the streets to pray so that everybody will see you and praise you for your prayer. He goes, go into your house, go into your closet, shut your door, pray privately. And your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. So when you pray, don't pray for show. Don't try to say cool, godly words. Don't try to pray to impress other people. Don't try to pray to impress God. Prayer is private. Humble yourself. Pray, talk to him openly like your father. And it's the attitude of the heart. You're doing this to communicate with God, to talk with God, not to earn any favor with Him. So prayer is private. Keep your prayer private. Another one of the things that I've done is I've made a list.

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