How important is it for the Holy Spirit to anoint and bless the events and programs you do in ministry?

While working on several parish staffs for over twenty-five years, I found myself falling into a routine that was counterproductive to the success of the various events we planned over the years.

• We would arrive at our staff or committee meetings, properly prepared with reports or plans or ideas, ready to crunch out a successful event.

• We would take our places around the conference table, grab a beverage and engage in brief niceties.

• Open the meeting with a token prayer, asking God to bless our efforts, which lasts all of thirty seconds.

“Oh Lord, we ask for your grace this evening,

that we might put together a great event to reach your people……. Amen!”

We were busy people who were on a mission to save the world and time was critical. So we gathered, built our programs, and closed in prayer. Feeling satisfied that WE have devised a wonderful plan we spent another thirty seconds to ask God to bless OUR plans.

Does this sound familiar? How many times have you sat in a meeting or at your desk, created a plan, and asked God to bless it? As I travel around the country consulting with parishes, one thing has become quite evident. Most people who are working in ministry positions are not really praying. They are working really hard and putting in a lot of hours, but very little of that time is allocated to praying.

The Disciples I am training in ministry learn that prayer MUST be a critical part of their ministry preparation. We must not only ask for God’s blessing, but also for his will and direction. No one knows how to transform your parish better than the Holy Spirit.

We do not pray because we do not want to die the death

required to develop the discipline of prayer.

If I were in management and I was supervising employees in ministry, I would require thirty minutes a day, ON THE CLOCK, for them to pray in the Church/Adoration Chapel. I must help them grow in their discipleship disciplines so they teach, by example, to those they minister to.

We must learn to operate our lives and jobs IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. We should be “pray(er)fully” prepared for our meetings and events to become effective.

If you are so busy “doing ministry” that you do not have time pray,

then your ministry is working under your power, not God’s!