| November 2009 |
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Greetings all who wrestle for the Kingdom,
Organizational Prayer
It was 4:20AM on 9/11/2009 and I had been up for a while already praying and thinking about what God woke me up with that morning. He was relating prayer within organizations to the Unified Vision Framework, an organizational management methodology I have developed and used for the past 30 plus years (for the past ten years much of the development has been with my Brother Andrew).
So what, you might ask?
Most months we have a short teaching or exhortation to start our newsletter. Last month we used a word made up by a child to make you smile and make a point. This month it will be a fairly dense teaching on the application of prayer within any family, business or organization that will be quite lengthy. If you read the Update to be encouraged by the testimonies you will have to scroll down to get to them but they are still here. I will separate the beginning and ending of the teaching with a break line so you can quickly move past it if you do not have an interest in reading a longer teaching or if you do not have the extra time it will take to digest it and want to come back later.
Using the Unified Vision Framework to Facilitate Organizational Prayer
The high level teaching set for the Unified Vision Framework (UVF) comprises over 200 Power Point Slides so we will only be touching on a few core areas within the framework to make our point. I trust it will be useful for you.
Proverbs tells us that without vision the people are unrestrained. Another way to state this is that without the clarity of direction formed by a clearly stated and lived vision, people will go their own way. Each will do what is right in their own eyes. This is true for individuals and also for organizations. Even good people trying to do the right thing will wander about if the vision is unclear. We need to see and understand what we are aiming at and why it is important. Prayer, specifically listening prayer, can inform and focus our vision, aligning it with His vision if we understand how it works and take the time to pursue it.
First, a bit about the UVF. The center of the UVF was built around Luke 2:52, “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men.” This verse gives the four areas that need to be in balance in a person’s life if they are growing well; mental, physical, social and spiritual. These core areas are how we break down organizational health as well; 1.) Mental = business content and process, 2.) Physical = technologies and tools, 3.) Social = people relationships and, 4.) Spiritual = vision and the intangibles of leadership, culture, etc. We demonstrate these relationships using a triangle and a circle.
Every area of organizational life and function fits within the framework and it can be used to align vision, organize strategies, focus effort and manage everything from the individual to the enterprise. How does this relate to prayer?
First and foremost we need to understand from God’s perspective what our organizational vision is. Andrew and I published a White Paper in Finland that goes into more depth on the various kinds of vision that occur within an organization. I will not deal with that here but if you are interested in a deeper discussion about vision you can read it on the website of PMI Finland at http://www.pmifinland.org/34.
Prayer then needs to be directed at seeing the True Vision of the organization and also how you are to line up with it, perform within it and lead using it. To understand how to function within the True Vision by God’s thoughts and intentions we need the direction of the Holy Spirit which requires asking and listening. It is the application of Proverbs 16:9 which states, “The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” We are to make plans but allow God to actually direct our steps. It does not just happen because we are believers in Jesus Christ. It requires asking. It requires listening. It requires prayer.
You can thus use the framework to focus prayer and listening in all of the functional areas of your enterprise. Inquire of the Lord for ideas related to your process and content, the technologies and tools you are using or should be looking at using, the people currently in your sphere of influence or those God might bring into relationship with you. How you do what you do can receive God’s breathe and direction. Ask for His input on the smallest incremental detail of your work effort and see what He might say. Ask for a new idea that comes from Him. One idea can change everything or give a direction that no other person or organization has ever thought of. It opens the door for the breath of God to flow in.
The Four D’s are another portion of the UVF that can help focus prayer. The Four D’s are drawn from Gen. 11:6 which says, “The LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.” One language, one mind, one plan. Principles of unity that were described in the negative for this story of the Tower of Babel but remain true none the less. Here are the Four D’s;
1.) Define 2.) Distill Agreement 3.) Deliver 4.) Drive Success
Language is really definitions, one mind is the point at which we agree and one plan is what we intend to deliver based on our defined agreement. Drive to success is an iterative process of maintaining unity when changes to the plan are requested or required.
Here is another example of taking a proven business process and standing back in order to ask God what He says about the situation. An example would perhaps be helpful.
I was working as a consultant on a project for Steelcase many years ago related to Customer Service. I was going through the four D’s with the Project Leader and mapping a path for the project. We defined the project vision as it pertained to Steelcase’s Stated Vision. We defined the linkage points to the strategic initiatives within Steelcase and the functional team that held the project. We mapped 12 steps in a critical path to overall success. This is all fairly normal work in business planning. Then things changed.
I had been talking to the Project Leader about listening to God and suggested that we ask God what to do now that we had made our plan. As we got quiet and listened I heard “do step 6 first”. That made no sense to me but I wrote it down. I asked my cohort what he had heard and he said “it’s odd but I think I heard do step 6 first”. Since we both had heard the same thought we took it to be God so we spent the next hour mapping out the details of delivering step 6 in the Project Plan. We had just finished working on the draft of this step when his boss, a Director at Steelcase, walked around the corner and said she was concerned about how to handle some of the issues with …. Step 6. We handed her our draft synopsis and she read it. She smiled and said “you guys have it nailed, keep up the good work” and walked off. God knew the question she had and that answering the question would give us favor in her eyes and establish the platform for our plan to succeed. A man makes his plans but God directs his steps at work in our lives.
As you go about your daily tasks in the home, at work or as you volunteer at church remember to take time to listen. Let God show you a new process, point you to a new tool or introduce you to a new technology, bring the exact person you need at the time you need them. If you give Him the time and space to instruct you He will.
Jeremiah 29:14 states that if we pursue Him with our whole heart He will be found by us. I have found this to be true not only in the disciplines of my personal walk but also in the function and flow of organizational management.
May God breathe His life into every area of our lives.
Thank God with us for these reports of praying in unity with God’s purpose and plan for us …
REPORTS • An email came in with this story “Just heard from <our friend> that he wanted you to know that his sister was healed after you prayed for her this past summer at Ionia Baptist.” Yes and amen. • Another email last week; “One Sunday in September, 2007 a group of the prayer team on Sunday morning prayed for my son. After three hospitalizations and numerous medications, he is now off all medicines. This is his first week of no medicines. I pray for God's continued healing in his life and in each of my family members. <Our son> is taking his Bible to school to read, attends a small group to fellowship and Sunday evenings attends a youth group near our home. I am thanking you for your ongoing prayers and give God the glory” God, You deserve the glory and we give it to You. • A woman invited a man who was having difficulties to come to the “W”. He agreed and met her at a McDonalds to get a ride over. He had not seen her in quite some time and when he got in the car he thought he was in the wrong car. God has so transformed this woman over the past year at the “W” that he did not recognize her. Now that is being transformed indeed. • The same man then was so changed by the experience at the “W” that his wife noticed it and came the next week. She is now seeing God at work in her heart. The entire family went to Church together two weeks ago for the first time. The kids asked to go back and the wife said ‘this is now my church!’ He had Hepatitis C and has now been off all meds for two weeks and is seeing God do miracles in his life. Father, You are amazing. • A woman testified about her dire financial situation and how she had received $15 in the mail. Her response was to thank God for gas money to get her to work. (John had shared about how he made it through the tough financial times he had by taking one day at a time, thanking God for each day’s bread provision). She had a big rent payment coming due and she did not know how she was going to pay it. She was praying fervently. She went to the bank with the idea to ask the teller to bring up her account information so she would know for sure, what she had. She approached the teller and told her what she wanted and the teller said ‘sure, no problem, I’ll bring up your information on the screen’. Suddenly, the screen went black, and the computer shut down. The teller apologized and said she would have to reboot. Julie is praying while the computer comes back on. The teller gets her account up and says: “you have -------- in your account” Julie looks stunned, and says, can you repeat that? She repeated the amount and Julie again asks, “what did you say?” Finally the teller wrote it on a sticky note. Julie was in awe because she did not know where the money came from. Julie came away from the bank having enough money to pay her rent, utilities, gas for car and food. You are Jehovah Jireh! • A daughter and son-in-law had their condo for sale for a year. Last week, in the “out of the box” prayer, her Mom put in the request for the sale of the condo. Saturday, they signed an agreement of sale and even in this depressed market; they made money on the sale! A week later they purchased a house that meets their needs. Thank You Lord for Your kindness to Your children! • A woman was diagnosed with Third Degree Kidney failure among other ailments. She requested prayer and went to the U of M last week for tests. The Doctor came in and said “Well, I see the tests from the other Hospital but all of our tests show nothing wrong with you in any of these areas”. We bless you Healing Lord. • A woman was at the “W” and still suffering foot pain after the “box” ministry time. She heard the Holy Spirit say “stop praying for the pain to go away and pray for new arches in your feet”. She asked another woman to pray with her and as they prayed they both felt her foot move and an arch appeared where there was none before. They kept praying and the other foot moved as well. Father, You indeed guide us into all truth including the truth of how to pray. • A woman could not start her car and thought “maybe I could pray” so she spoke to her car and it started right up. We serve a big God. • A man gave this story @ the “W”; “He heard the Lord tell him to head west. He reminded the Lord he had 3 appointments that day. He was told to cancel them. With 3 minutes they were cancelled, he got in his car and headed west. Stopped to get gas and then to Wendy’s for food. He ordered a sandwich and side order of chili. As he headed on to the freeway, a man was standing at the onramp with bags. God said: “pick him up” so he did. The man got in the car just as the rain came. The man hadn’t eaten in awhile so <the man> gave him the chili. The man who had been picked up thanked God for the chili before eating, so <the man> knew he was a believer. <the man> asked where he was heading, and he said “northern Iowa and then Southern Iowa to see a friend. (The friend in southern Iowa owns a big scrap metal yard and had an open offer for this man to work there whenever he wanted) <the man> asks what he does and he said he was a welder. They drive 2 hours, and stop at a rest area. <the man> noticed a Ratzenburger (sp.?) truck pull in after them. <the man> quickly writes out a financial plan for the man on a piece of paper. While getting the paper, a business card fell into his hand from a man in Oklahoma who had a welding business that he had gotten a year ago. They get back in the car, and the Holy Spirit direct <the man> to keep driving, and they are heading toward Indy. <the man’s> heart is softening toward the fellow he had picked up and the he was becoming more willing to talk. He reveals that his daughter lives in Oklahoma, and he is feeling the desire to go see her. Two years ago, <the man> had driven off and left his driver’s license at a bank in Sand Springs, Ok. When he stopped that night at a hotel, he discovered it. He called the bank the next day and had to stay at the hotel until it arrived by courier. When <the man> had been at the bank, he asked the banker if he had any prayer requests. The banker’s grand niece had come in to the bank and her request was that she wanted her daddy to come back. So <the man> prayed with her that her daddy would move back. <the man> was putting all the pieces together and realized the man in his car was this girl’s father! <the man> and the fellow had driven 1 and ½ hours from the rest area, and they pulled off the road. The Ratzenburger truck pulled off behind the car. The driver gets out and comes to the car and tells <the man>. “God told me I’m supposed to take this man to where he is supposed to go, and I have been following you for an hour and a half.” <the man> asked where he was headed and he said Waterloo, IA. This was about 5 miles from where this fellow’s friend lived. God had directed <the man> to give the fellow he had picked up some money, the financial plan and then reminded him to give him the business card of the welder who just happened to live in the town where this man’s daughter lived. Thank You Father for working for over two years to bring a plan together for restoring broken families! What an important reminder to us all that if we listen and are obedient even when it seems insignificant, God is at work to bring all things together for His purpose and our good! • A man was discussing the “W” and all the answers with his wife. She was not sure about all of this new approach and attitude of prayer. While they were talking a friend called with a torn Rotator Cuff and asked for prayer so they prayed in the “new way”. The friend called back last week and is completely healed. “New” is good when it is Your way Father. • A man and wife came to the “W” asking for prayer for their marriage. He testified this week that he had a lot of anger toward his wife, blaming her for problems. He said on Monday morning, he was driving to his sister’s house, and the thought came to his mind… “You have been looking at this whole situation wrong!” He realized that he had been believing lies about his wife. Thank You Lord for the renewing of a mind! • A woman asked her Dad to come over and fix her toilet. That night while at the “W” a young woman prayed for her toilet that it would be fixed and running fine. When her Dad got there he came out and asked what he was supposed to fix since it was “running fine”. God, You act even on the mundane details of our life. • A woman who was living in an abusive relationship was prayed for via the “box” that she would have the courage to leave her horrible situation. Two days later she called the friend who had put her in the box and said “I do not know why but suddenly I have the courage to leave and I left yesterday”. God, You answer the prayers of Your people. • A woman in her 70’s came to the conference in TX with a torn Rotator Cuff. Her surgery had been postponed due to an infection in her shoulder. We prayed and after prayer she had full range of motion and not pain and the spot where the infection had been was no longer sensitive or painful to the touch. Way cool Lord. • A man was praying about strife in his workplace and he was told by the Spirit to pray and not talk. Pray for peace. He began to do that and for three weeks straight there has been peace and no strife at work. The prayers of a righteous man are indeed effective Lord. • A woman who came to the conference in TX had not slept well for over three weeks due to Bronchitis. On Friday night we ministered via the “box”. Sat morning she gave the testimony that she had slept through the night and had stopped coughing. Bless our healing Lord. • A woman was praying for her daughter who had been molested as a young girl and was now giving them fits as a young teenager. Within a week the daughter approached her Mom wanting to talk and opened up confessing sin in her life and asking for prayer and the Holy Spirit melted her heart and began the healing process. We do bless you Healing Lord. • A story came in where a young woman was getting hate texts from a person and was distressed about it. As the intercessor drove away she was prompted to rebuke the lies. She prayed and called back later that day; the last text was just before that prayer. Father, Your sheep hear Your voice and follow You still today and You still answer when we call. • An intercessor couple that is a part of the “W” saw their grandkids pray for people’s healing. Two people were healed instantly. Thank You Lord for allowing us to pass these truths to the coming generations. • A woman was prayed for at the “W” for her sight which was getting very bad. She was prompted to take a newspaper to church which made no sense since she could not read without special lighting in place. She obeyed. After the service God told her to read the paper. She grabbed it and tried to read not expecting anything but she was able to read a few lines in normal light before it blurred again. Father, finish the work and thank You for the encouragement You sent. • A woman with cancer was prayed for at the “W” and last week the Doctor’s declared her Cancer free. Yes!!!!. • A young man was having a Migraine at work and an intercessor was prompted to pray for him. As he prayed the young man was smirking. The intercessor said “well, I have never had someone smirk while being prayed for but let’s see what God will do.” A little while later he asked how the headache was doing and the young man replied “It is completely gone”. Thank You faithful Lord. • A man who came to the “W” in a wheelchair has lost over 100 lbs and now walks without a cane and it being healed in other areas of his life as well. God, You really are awesome. • A man was prayed for because of an abrasion on his eye which was healed instantly. He also was suffering from a degenerative condition in his eye that was causing great concern. We found out this past week that he went back to the Doctor and his eye and his vision is completely normal. Way cool. Here are some additional things to be aware of as WT members; |
