What in the world is Strategic Business Prayer? Great question! It's not often that those three words are used to describe the same thing. So, let's define it. Strategic Business Prayer is interactive conversation with God in order to make strategic decisions about how to proceed in business. It's like having the Father, Son and Holy Spirit on your advisory board.
Many of us have come to think that the best we can hope for is that God listens to our prayers and occasionally grants a request. Prayer seems like a mysterious activity that is useful for children at bedtime or aging saints who seem to have mastered some secret code with God. For others, prayer seems like an obligation without much usefulness in everyday life.
This couldn't be farther from the truth.
What if we looked at prayer differently? What if we recognized that prayer is two-way communication with the God who created the universe? It might be helpful to think of prayer like a cell phone conversation. Sometimes, we have five bars and the signal is crystal clear. Other times, there is interference, and we don't hear clearly what God is saying. Still other times, we dial a wrong number, and the communication we have isn't with who we intended. Prayer is a skill that takes practice, just like any skill. Think about it. If you had never seen a cell phone, and nobody you knew had ever used one, how useful would it be? You might be able to turn it on, but would you know how to unlock it? How to dial the right person? You or one of your friends might figure out how to answer a call when it came in; how long would it take to figure out how to call someone you know? Using a cell phone is an automatic skill to most people. Interactive prayer can be just as automatic—when you've had as much practice with it as you have with using your cell phone.
Strategic Business Prayer is based on three underlying principles:
- God knows the plans He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
- God already has good work prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).
- God speaks to His children through a variety of means (John 10:14 & 27. See also, Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby).
Based on these Biblical truths, we ask God what His plans for us are, and what works He has planned for us. We take the time to pay attention to what God is doing in and around us, and seek His wisdom and guidance in every area of our lives—including work.
Strategic Business Prayer grew out of Dawn Whitestone's efforts to align her activities and business practices with what she believed God was calling her to do. Dawn was familiar with several listening prayer modalities for trauma recovering and inner healing prayer which she used regularly in her counseling practice, as well as in her own life. She had been inspired to pray through her own life decisions through Henry Blackaby's Bible Study Experiencing God. So it seemed only natural to utilize prayer in business consulting. Utilizing her training as a counselor, she applied what she learned about helping people grow through trauma to business problems, such as leadership development, strategic planning, conflict resolution and other issues important to those in the business world.
Through coaching, retreats, workshops, training, books and more, WhiteStone Professionals coaches guide our clients to utilize Strategic Prayer for greater influence, impact and income.
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Testimonial:
February 5, 2017
Dear Dawn,
I want to take some time to share the result of our strategic prayer sessions in mid - 2015. As you know, I had determined to retire from my role as chamber president on December 31, 2016 but was rather unsettled about that decision. During one of the sessions we addressed this issue and, as you remember, I clearly was impressed with an internal voice that said, "Who told you to set a date? I placed you in your role, and I'll take you out when I'm ready!"
Since that session (and taking retirement off the table) the results have been phenomenal! Between new membership and retention of existing members, we've seen a ten percent increase. We've also seen a ten percent increase in monthly chamber lunch attendance. Additionally, we've initiated a Young Professionals Network, Power Teams and SHINE Workshops. We've also gone from two weekly Fellowship Friday locations to four. Finally, we've added a director of development whose responsibilities include The Builders magazine, a chamber publication which debuted in early 2016.
Dawn, I honestly doubt that any of this would have occurred had I not enlisted your help by guiding me through strategic prayer and pouring your amazing talents into my life both personally and professionally. Words cannot express how thankful I am, but please direct anyone considering your services to me so I may have the honor and privilege to highly recommend you.
Respectfully and Thankfully,
Mark J. Goldstein
President, CEO, Central Florida Christian Chamber
