I have never wrestled with such an all encompassing question as this: will prayer really help my business?
I find myself in the same situation in the world of business. There are formulas, rules to be followed. Show up on time. Work hard. Develop your brand. All that. I have tried following the rules only to learn that they don’t always work. Sure, they turn out to be good advice, but no matter how much I show up on time, how hard I work or how well I develop my brand, it is eventually God that allows my work to amount to anything. I make a presentation to a big prospect. I have done my homework. I have worked hard. I put together everything the prospect said he wanted. Now it is up to God to do what He will. I think at some point it all comes down to this. No matter how we try to tilt the odds in our favor it still comes back to our needing to rely on God for His provision.
I have prayed for many things over the past dozen years — more clients, more revenue, greater influence. Sometimes it works out really well and I get exactly what I wanted. Other times I get nothing. No answered prayer, no guidance. Just some sense of disappointment over the formula not working.
What are we to make of this? Is God not reliable? Doesn’t He care?
I am not much for quoting Bible verses, but I will add a piece of one here. “…but it was God who made it grow” (1 Cor 3:6b, NLT). The story behind the verse is that an early church builder, an apostle, wrote about people who were working together to build the church. Each person had their own role, but it was God who allowed their work to amount to something.