One of the things I love about reading the Bible is that every time I read it I see the same words, but they impact me differently. We prayed for you and your work team from Matthew 5, possibly Jesus’s most quoted message, the Sermon on the Mount. Verses 1 and 2 read, “When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions.” For 50+ years, I believed that the sermon was delivered to a huge crowd. Maybe it was, but the text only refers directly to Jesus and His disciples being in a quiet place.

Jesus’ popularity had reached a point where a clear intentional message about how to live in the kingdom (experience God’s blessings while still living regular day-to-day lives) was necessary for those closest to Him. In verses 8 and 9 He goes on to say, “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.” He encouraged the people He was mentoring to look first to heaven as a way of focusing their hearts and minds on God so that they could see God working around them. Then he said that real blessing and purpose come about by uniting others, rather than competing or fighting with them.

Some people on this prayer list own companies, some are managers and some are first-time employees. Several of you are coaches, consultants, lawyers, brokers or some other type of leadership development professional. You all have influence over those around you and can mentor by example and by word. With that in mind, we prayed for you:

• To have ample time to invest in the people you work with;
• To be accessible;
• To experience the sonship that God offers so that you are free to teach and to learn;
• To help people cooperate rather than compete;
• To take time to listen – both to God and to others;
• To have a mentor who cares for you and who looks to heaven first.

Over the years, we have heard from you about family challenges that come with business ownership, so I wrote a short and free prayer guide that you can get by clicking here or in the footer. We hope that it encourages you by making praying for your kids (or anyone else) more engaging and interactive.

Thanks again for all the updates. We love knowing that we are praying for current situations.

Praying as we learn how from mentors