Leadership Prayers Like Jesusনমুনা

One final leadership lesson from Jesus's prayer is his faithfulness to thinking about the future. Often the need that God is calling us to meet lives long beyond us. The history of the Christian faith is filled with faithful men and women who prayerfully seek God's Spirit for future generations. In some ways, it is here in John 17 that we can trace the origin of this practice.

As Jesus is finishing this prayer, we see His attention turn from the Disciples to "those who will believe in [Him] through their word" (vs. 20). Jesus prays for the future when He will no longer be with them, but the mission/vision will remain. There is one specific leadership prayer that Christian leaders should take particular note of.

First, Jesus prays for their unity. Leaders play an essential role in helping to build unity around a common vision. Jesus understood that the future would present an opportunity for that unity to become divided. The same is true for the teams we lead. As faithful Christian leaders, we should be prayerfully seeking God-given unity for our teams and for our future teams.

As leaders, we should consistently pray for the future of our team, its leaders, and the vision of the organization or team we lead. The vision will often live longer than we will. So we must faithfully lift the future in prayer.

Action Steps:

Write a list of the next three positions you need to be filled on your team. Begin praying for each of those future team members. Begin praying for God's supernatural unity to exist between them and the vision which God has given you.

Write a prayer for the individual who will succeed you in whatever leadership role you currently hold. Consider handing that prayer over when God calls you to the next season of leadership.

What's Next:

If you enjoyed this reading plan, we invite you to connect with ILI and discover how you can grow as a leader and accelerate the spread of the Gospel. For more information, visit https://Training.ILITeam.org.