Does your Company Have its Own Prayer?

by Henry Kaestner and William Norvell

I went to an all boys Jesuit prep school in Baltimore and have said a fair amount  of "Our Fathers" and "Hail Marys" in both English and Latin to be suspect of scripted prayers.  But when William came to the team and suggested that we have a "Sovereign's Capital Prayer," I was open to it, and then when I read and prayed it, I was hooked. 

He'll tell you that it's not his own creation, nor a direct download from God, but bits of that along with a very liberal helping from John Eldredge.  John, whose book "Wild at Heart" (among others) has championed Scripted Prayers for years.  I hope that some aspect of this is encouraging and that you might think about adopting a prayer for your own company as well.

My dear Lord Jesus, we come to you now to be restored in you, renewed in you, to receive your life and your love and all the grace and mercy we so desperately need this day. We honor you as our Lord, and we surrender every aspect and dimension of our work to you. We give you our spirit, soul, and body, our heart, mind, and will. We ask your Holy Spirit to lead this time of prayer. In all that we pray now, we stand in total agreement with your Spirit and with all those praying for us by the Spirit of God and by the Spirit of God alone.

We pray for each member of the Sovereign’s Capital team, that we would work with all our hearts as if we are working for you and not for worldly approval. We acknowledge that our identity is in you, as a beloved child of God, not in any worldly success we may be blessed with. Thank you for giving us the talents that make each of us a unique member of the team. We pray that as we use these talents, we would be faithful in our pursuits, coming alongside the work you are already doing in the marketplace, and that we would set aside our willful pride. We pray that we will be faithful stewards of your money, that we would use all of our abilities to make investments that will multiply for your Kingdom. We know that you exist outside of time and can accomplish all things without us, and therefore our work should never take precedence to time sitting by your side, learning your ways and listening for your counsel. We fully understand that you are in ultimate control of the destiny of our investments. We ask that each working hour be dedicated to your glory and the bringing forth of heaven on earth.

We pray for our portfolio companies. We specifically entrust the hearts, minds and actions of the leaders, that they would approach the day ready and willing to serve your will, not theirs. We pray that they would see each employee, customer and supplier as a relationship to steward wisely, not one for personal gain. We also pray for the communities in which our companies have a presence. We pray that they would be better for our companies existence and that they would feel the loving presence of a Christ-driven company in their community. We pray for all the companies we have met but not invested in, that they would also be working towards your glory, and that you would use us as a vessel for encouragement.

We seek your wisdom and favor as we search for co-laborers on this journey. We pray that your discernment would guide each and every investment decision that we face in the future. Please guide us to investments that can make a return on earth and in heaven. We pray for your grace in providing strong advisory relationships and future teammates. We pray for these future co-laborers now, that their hearts would be alive to a collaboration with us for your Glory.

Let us remember that our work is all about you, and not about us. You are the Hero of the Sovereign's Capital story. We ask your forgiveness for our every sin along this journey [name specific ones you are conscious of]. Search us, know us, and reveal to us where you are working in our lives, and grant to us the grace of your healing and deliverance and a deep and true repentance.

We now bring the authority, rule, and dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ and the full work of Christ over our work today. We bring the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and the full work of Christ against every evil power coming against us, every foul spirit, every foul power and device. We cut them off in the name of the Lord; we bind and banish them from us in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. We also bring the full work of Christ between us and every person we encounter, and allow only the love of God and only the Spirit of God between us.

We put on the full armor of God: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel, helmet of salvation; we take up the shield of faith and sword of the Spirit, and we choose to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of your might, to pray at all times in the Spirit. We ask you to send forth your Spirit to raise up prayer and intercession for us as we so desperately need your guidance and wisdom for our daily work. In Jesus’ name, amen.

[Thanks to Patrick Fore and Unsplash for the Cover Photo]