By Greg Thornton, vice president, Moody Publishers
R.A. Torrey, Moody Bible Institute’s first superintendent/president, opens his must-read little book How to Pray with Ephesians 6:18, “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.” Torrey writes that as the intelligent child of God weighs the meaning of these words, we each are driven to say, “I must pray, pray, pray. I must put all my energy and all my heart into prayer. Whatever else I do, I must pray.”
My colleagues at Moody Publishers and I have sought to live out this truth by praying often. Meetings begin with requests for wisdom as we do this work of publishing. We seek the mind of Christ when acquiring and editing new titles. We ask that decisions made in marketing and selling books will honor God. Even performance reviews start with acknowledging God’s gifting in each individual, and praying that those gifts will be developed and fully used. And often we simply ask as Moses did, “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands.”
Also, in an effort to keep Moody’s global vision in front of us, we have framed and mounted a huge map of the world on a wall in our main conference room. A copy of Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation helps us with specific prayers for God’s people and work in other countries.
And personally, I use my morning walk from the train to the office for prayer. Often I find myself praying our Lord’s prayer as I prepare for the day ahead. Another favorite is Psalm 19:14: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
How about you? How do you connect with God in prayer related to your work? I and others would be encouraged to hear your thoughts.
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