The Common Denominator of Spiritual Leaders

By Dave Earley

When I was nearly 17 years old, I gave my life to God. Almost immediately, I began leading a tiny Bible study group of teens at our public high school. I knew very little about God, the Bible, or leadership. I felt totally insufficient and utterly desperate for all the help I could get.

So I prayed.

Eventually, that group multiplied to more than 100 students. Our high school experienced a revival. Ever since then, I have been keenly aware of the link between prayer and impact in ministry.

Prayer is the indisputable common denominator of spiritual difference-makers in every generation. Prayer is certainly not the only act of leadership, but I doubt you will find an effective spiritual leader in the Bible or in history who was not a person of prayer. This is the reality today as much as it was 2,000 years ago. Listen to the voices of renowned authorities in the realm of spiritual leadership:

• Henry Blackaby: “More than any other single thing leaders do, it is their prayer life that will determine their effectiveness.”
• Peter Wagner: “Great leaders pray!”
• Charles Swindoll: “Prayer, I repeat, is absolutely essential in the life of a leader.”
• Wesley Duewel: “. . . as a leader, your usefulness is dependent upon your prayer,” and “the effectiveness of your ministry depends on your spiritual life.”

In addition, prayer leaders known for their classic works were adamant about the critical nature of prayer. Nineteenth century Christian leader Andrew Murray said that prayer in the life of the leader should be regarded “as the highest part of the work entrusted to us, the root and strength of all other work . . . there is nothing we need to study and practice as the art of praying alright.”

J.C. Ryle, another 19th century Christian leader, writes, “I have read the lives of many eminent Christians who have been on earth since Bible days. Some of them, I see, were rich, and some poor. Some were learned, some unlearned . . . some were Calvinists, and some were Arminians. . . . But one thing, I see, they all had in common. They all had been men of prayer.”¹

E.M. Bounds, who spent the last 17 years of his life locked away, studying, writing, and practicing prayer, writes, “Great praying is the sign of God’s great leaders.” He also states, “Old Testament history is filled with accounts of praying saints. The leaders of Israel in those early days were noted for their praying habits. Prayer is the one thing which stands out prominently in their lives. . . . They were essentially men of prayer.”

I wanted to see if Ryle and Bounds were right. So I did a detailed study of the lives of 75 high-impact spiritual leaders. I studied Moses, Samuel, David, Daniel, Jesus, the apostles, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, Dawson Trotman, Bill Bright, Henrietta Mears, and Bill Hybels, among others. Their gifts, talents, personalities, backgrounds, educational levels, and social status varied. But they all had one common denominator—they were people of prayer. They all had what most of us would call an “extra-ordinary” prayer life.

I agree with J.O. Sanders, who concluded, “The eminence of great leaders in the Bible is attributable to the fact that they were great in their praying.”

Not Enough Prayer

I have trained pastors, missionaries, church staffs, and small group leaders all over the nation and in many parts of the world. When we discuss prayer, they nod their heads and agree that prayer is important. Yet, too often North American Christian leaders are guilty of doing nearly everything else but pray. One survey said the average pastor prays only seven minutes a day!² Another said that 80 percent of pastors surveyed spend less than 15 minutes a day in prayer.³

The most generous survey said that pastors pray all of 37 minutes a day. But it also showed that only 16 percent of Protestant ministers across the country are very satisfied with their personal prayer life. This survey stated that a disheartening 21 percent typically spend 15 minutes or less per day in prayer.⁴

I am not sure which survey is most accurate, but they all tell us the same thing. Most pastors pray too little. No wonder so many pastors feel discouraged. No wonder so many will burn out or quit.

Most Important Task of the Spiritual Leader

Effective leaders need to accomplish many important tasks, including planning, vision-casting, team-building, communicating, and policy-making. But Christian leadership is spiritual work. Spiritual work depends upon spiritual tools. No spiritual tool is as significant or powerful as prayer. As Andrew Murray reminds us, “In spiritual work, everything depends upon prayer.”

The importance of prayer in effective spiritual leadership shows up on every level of Christian leadership. For example, a survey of small group leaders revealed an interesting correlation between time spent in prayer and small group multiplication. It revealed that leaders who spent 90 minutes or more in daily devotions multiplied their groups twice as often as those who spent less than half an hour.⁵

The responsibilities of spiritual leaders have deep eternal ramifications. The burden for eternal souls is often complex and confusing, immense and exhausting. Henry and Richard Blackaby get to the heart of this matter when they write, “There will be times when leaders will come to the end of their own resources. In those times, they will understand there is nothing more they can do for their people. Giving speeches will not fix the problem. Issuing memos will change nothing. Calling in consultants will be futile. There are simply some things that can only be achieved through prayer.”⁶

Prayer Is the Most Influential Activity a Leader Can Do

When I look at the massive responsibility of trying to influence people for God, I am stunned by my own insufficiency. Who am I? When it comes to worldly influence, I am a “nobody and a nothing.” I can’t do it. But I know someone who can—God. He can do more in seconds than I can accomplish in years. He can do it better, bigger, and more long-lastingly than I can even imagine.

So the question becomes, how can I work with God to be more influential in the lives of the people I am responsible for? The answer, of course, is prayer.

R.A. Torrey made an astounding observation when he wrote, “Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God’s infinite grace and power. All that God is and all that God does is at the disposal of prayer. But we must use the key. Prayer can do anything God can do, and as God can do anything, prayer is omnipotent.”⁷

Hudson Taylor was an English missionary to China. He founded the China Inland Mission, which became miraculously influential for God in China. At his death, the mission included 205 mission stations with more than 800 missionaries and 125,000 Chinese Christians. How did he do it? He said, “It is possible to move men through God by prayer alone.”

All God Does through Prayer

David Jeremiah leads a large mega-church in southern California and has a radio ministry. Regarding the essential role of prayer in ministry, he writes, “I scoured the New Testament some time ago, looking for things God does in ministry that are not prompted by prayer. Do you know what I found? Nothing.

“I don’t mean I had trouble finding an item or two: I mean I found nothing. Everything God does in the work of ministry, He does through prayer. Consider:

• Prayer is the way you defeat the devil (James 4:7).
• Prayer is the way you get the lost saved (Luke 18:13).
• Prayer is the way you acquire wisdom (James 1:5).
• Prayer is the way a backslider gets restored (James 5:16–20).
• Prayer is how saints get strengthened (Jude 20, Matt. 26:41).
• Prayer is the way to get laborers out to the mission field (Matt. 9:38).
• Prayer is how we cure the sick (James 5:13–15).
• Prayer is how we accomplish the impossible (Mark 11:23–24).”

Jeremiah summarizes by saying, “Everything God wants to do in your life He has subjugated to one thing: prayer.”⁸

1 J.C. Ryle, A Call to Prayer (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1976), pp. 14-15.
2 William Brehm, Why Should We Pray? Be Ready! http://www.be-ready.org/whypray.html.
3 “Statistics About Pastors,” http://www.maranathalife.com/lifeline/stats.htm.
4 “Study shows only 16% of Protestant ministers are very satisfied with their personal prayer lives,” Ellison Research, ellisonresearch.com/ERPS%2011/release_16_prayer.htm.
5 Joel Comiskey, Home Group Cell Explosion (Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 1998), p. 34.
6 Henry and Richard Blackaby, Spiritual Leadership (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2001), p. 151.
7 R.A. Torrey, The Power of Prayer (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1924), p. 17.
8 David Jeremiah, Prayer: The Great Adventure (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 1997), pp. 40-41.

DAVE EARLEY is lead pastor of Grace City Church, Las Vegas, NV, and associate professor of pastoral leaders and evangelism at Liberty University’s School of Divinity. This article is adapted from his book, Prayer: Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders (AMG, 2008).

Effective Spiritual Leaders Pray for Their People

Too many Christian leaders pray too little—and too many Christian leaders pray too little for others. This must change. Intercessory prayer is a primary tool used by effective spiritual leaders.

Missionary leader Wesley Duewel writes in Mighty Prevailing Prayer, “You have no greater ministry or no leadership more influential than intercession.” It was E.M. Bounds who said, “Talking to men for God is a great thing. But talking to God for men is greater still.” S.D. Gordon wrote, “True prayer never stops in petition for one’s self. It reaches out for others. Intercession is the climax of prayer.”

Intercession was a major part of the leadership ministry of Moses. Again and again in Exodus and Numbers, we hear Moses effectively crying out to God on behalf of his followers (Ex. 17:4; Num. 11:2; 14:13–19). Samuel, the great leader and prophet, believed it was sinful to fail to pray for his people. He said, “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you” (1 Sam. 12:23).

The Apostle Paul was a major league difference-maker. Note that his letters are washed in mention of his intercessory prayers for his followers.

• “God . . . is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times” (Rom. 1:9–10).
• “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers” (Eph. 1:16).
• “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy” (Phil. 1:3–4).
• “Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you” (Col. 1:9).
• “We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers” (1 Thess. 1:2).
• “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you” (2 Thess. 1:11).
• “Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers” (2 Tim. 1:3).

Jesus lived out intercession. His entire ministry identified with us, standing in our stead, and going to God the Father on our behalf. As a leader, He prayed for His followers. In speaking of His 12 disciples, He said, “I pray for them” (John 17:9). In speaking of His future followers (including us), He said, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message” (John 17:20). Even now in His exalted home in heaven, Jesus is the One “who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us” (Rom. 8:34, NKJV), and “He always lives to make intercession” for us (Heb. 7:25, NKJV).

If we want to lead like Moses, Samuel, Paul, and Jesus, we need to pray like Moses, Samuel, Paul, and Jesus. Like them, we must pray for our followers.

— DAVE EARLEY