Prayers for Fundraising By Ron Frey

Learn to Pray Great Fundraising Prayers

What is the role of prayer in fundraising? Over the course of my career, I’ve danced around the issue. While I respect ministries that employ the philosophy of “all prayer and no ask,” I’ve always believed that asking givers to respond to ministry opportunities and meet a need is the essential function of my work. I believe we need to ask, ask often, and ask well.

The problem is that the pendulum can swing too far in the other direction and become “all ask and no prayer.” I confess that I’ve occasionally given lip service to the importance of prayer, while relying heavily on my own human effort and various marketing tactics to achieve results. This approach opens a crack for a subtle seed of thought that suggests: “if I didn’t pray about it and the tactics still worked, why is there a need to pray at all?”

In I John 5:14-15, John writes,

“This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”

I pray because God hears me. And when my prayers are aligned with God’s will, it unlocks the resources of heaven. The storehouses of heaven are available to resource every person and ministry that will steward those resources for His purpose and not their own. As a ministry fundraiser, what promise could be better than that?

This is why I believe Christian leaders need to learn how to pray Great Fundraising Prayers. I believe there are many types of prayers that are useful for ministry leaders in fundraising, but I’ll share three of them here

The  Prayer for Alignment

This is the prayer that earnestly seeks God’s direction and guidance so that I can be completely aligned with God’s will, and thus release God’s provision. In II Samuel 5:17-25, David prays diligently for guidance in battle. By following the Lord’s instructions, he achieved a breakthrough and gained victory over his enemies. The prayer for guidance must be sincere: I must listen for God’s answer and be willing change if the Lord redirects my plans. This prayer allows me to be confident in asking givers to support a plan that is truly God-directed

The Prayer for Favor

This is the prayer that seeks to establish righteous relationships with others, resulting in their willingness to partner with me in accomplishing God’s purposes. Before Nehemiah asked for a gift from the king, he asked God to give him favor in Nehemiah 1:11.

“Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

As Artaxerxes granted Nehemiah his requests, Nehemiah knew he had achieved something that is worth more than money – a positive, favorable relationship with the king that would help him withstand the onslaught of his enemies. As Christian leaders, we often deal with “kings” in the business world who have the wealth and position to support our ministries. Pray that God would give you favor in their eyes.

The Prayer of Blessing

This prayer calls upon God’s grace, loving-kindness, mercy, justice and righteousness to be revealed in the lives of our givers, resulting in their prosperity. In Numbers 6:24-27 it says:

“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”’“So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”

The Levitical priests essentially had only two jobs – to make sure God received what was due to Him through the offerings, and to pronounce blessings on the people. This priestly blessing can be used today with our givers. It is a prayer that calls upon God’s favor to bless every aspect of their lives. What better way to pray for givers, especially in their presence, that God would cause their families, businesses, and investments to prosper so they can continue to build God’s kingdom?

The Apostle Paul echoes this type of prayer in II Cor. 9:8 by blessing the Corinthians for their past and current generosity:

“Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.”

I believe it is good to pray for the prosperity of our givers, and let them know we are doing so, so that they can be generous on every occasion and thus grow in their grace of giving.

As you learn to pray great fundraising prayers, remember that the resources of a loving Father are undiminished by your asking and His giving it. There is always more.

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Ron Frey is president of Frey Resource Group, helping nonprofit organizations achieve success in fundraising through powerful storytelling.

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