Fire. Part 1. Pray.

“God doesn’t ask that we succeed in everything, but that we are faithful. However beautiful our work may be, let us not become attached to it. Always remain prepared to give it up, without losing your peace.”

– St. Mother Teresa

There are a lot of ways of writing what I’m writing here – a ton of great resources from leaders doing ministry or organizational leadership that you can apply to your work. This part however is essential, you need to pray. It can’t be haphazard. It needs to be intentional and holy. You need to be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Your relationship with Christ needs to be renewed and you need to repent.

Ephesians 6 calls out what we face as leaders – we don’t toil against flesh and blood, but powers and principalities. It’s a spiritual war, and you’re a captain. You are powerless in it but with what Christ empowers you to do. So, you need to know the Shepherd’s voice well and listen in your prayer for what He is calling you to do.

Everything that comes after will have your own road and experience – by using your own gifts and talents. Your own tools and connections, your own people to serve. What I offer is because of my own prayer journey, my own willingness to serve the Lord’s call in my life. What is yours, will be the result of His lead.

You are an instrument of the Lord, without Him you’ll just sit in the sand. Your first priority before you start, is to pray about what you’re going to start. If you’ve already started, you need to pray about how you’ll continue. The praying will make the work easier and possible.

Consider dedicating your labor to the Holy Spirit, the Lord the Giver of Life. Jesus left us the Holy Spirit to move the Church, to turn the seed into a tree after Jesus ascended. The gifts and fruits of that relationship will only grow in you as a leader of ministry. He equips the called. My work with Righteous Co. and St. Greg’s is dedicated to the Holy Spirit, I recommend putting yours in His hands too.

After you’ve done your praying to get in, that prayer doesn’t stop. It only intensifies. However, He’ll lead you on your mission, in every twist and turn and through every rapid, hold on to Him.

A parting word from St. Mother Teresa, “God doesn’t ask that we succeed in everything, but that we are faithful. However beautiful our work may be, let us not become attached to it. Always remain prepared to give it up, without losing your peace.” That faithfulness is what we are called to, the real work is handled by God. We’re just the instrument powered through prayer.

Next in the series – Relational Ministry. Build. Good. Relationships.

 Keep Climbing!

Adam Jarosz is bringing fuel to the productively faithful – subscribe here to get The Climb articles right in your email box, every Righteous Wednesday. You can also follow along the Righteous journey on Instagram @righteousco.