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Prayer: The Practice of Stewardship By Andrea Leigh Capuyan

 How is prayer a practice of stewardship?

When thinking about cultivating a deeper commitment to stewardship in life, often the practice of generosity directs growth and forward movement. Generosity does cultivate stewardship. Yet, the practice of generosity and selflessness is not enough. There is more for a steward’s daily life and practice. Generosity and hospitality are birthed within a steward who daily is deeply connected to God. This daily practice is prayer.

A Conversation with God

Prayer is the avenue a steward attunes to the Master’s voice and learns the Father’s heart. Prayer creates communion and conversation between God and us, so as His stewards we are not only aligned with Him, we experience His continual transformation, being conformed to His image and likeness.

I love a good conversation. Slowing down with a warm cup of coffee, a good friend, and talking about life is rich and wonderful. There is always laughter and often tears. And with each conversation the discovery of a deeper pathway for authenticity and intimacy because more is shared and more is known. So it is with God. He wants to sit with us, share a meal with us, and linger with us, so we can learn His voice, perhaps even long for it. Prayer becomes the daily communion between the King and the steward where hopes and desires are shared.

Embracing Limitations

Prayer is the defining and essential practice for a steward because in prayer we are invited to embrace our limitations. Recently, I read the following quote on a prayer card,

“Intercessory prayer can penetrate the hearts of those we cannot open and shield those we cannot guard and teach where we cannot speak and comfort where our hearts have no power to soothe. Prayer with its unseen hand, can enter where we may not.” – All Saints Sisters

Prayer quickly reminds us of the boundaries of our authority and power. Prayer directs the steward’s activities, and reminding us of our limitations and the activities where only God is sovereign. Prayer fosters Christ’s humility in us. It is where God reveals to us what He entrusted to us to hold and manage. Also in prayer God reclaims those burdens which are not ours.

Inviting Provision

Jesus models for us in His prayer that it is a conversation which the steward can lay his needs before His King.

  • Strength for the task
  • Freedom from captivity
  • Protection from evil

These are necessary provisions if stewards wish to rule and flourish as those rightly aligned with God, extending love, goodness, and beauty on the earth. In prayer we are invited find God’s provision.

I am reminded of the wisdom I learned from a man who once served as a ministry board member. It was a time when the financial statements were less than robust. In all honesty, I felt like the ministry’s lack of money was in direct correlation to my many faults as an executive director. In this season of scarcity, his words convicted and encouraged.

“God does not promise us yearly bread or monthly bread. He promises DAILY bread, so we might always look to Him for provision.”

 Sweet relief! Stewardship is the acknowledgment that God owns everything. Prayer becomes the vehicle where such knowledge becomes reality, asking God daily for each and everything.

In the hustle and bustle of daily life my wish for you, my wish for me, really, my wish for all of us is that we might create an intentional life of conversation with God where we freely talk with our Master, embrace our limitations, and invite His provision. For in the practice of prayer the steward’s calling is cemented and centered.

There’s a knock on the door and the coffee is brewing. Go, sit with Him, and chat a while.

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Andrea Leigh Capuyan, CCNL, CNAP, is the Executive Director of the Laurel Pregnancy Center in Laurel, Maryland. She is cares about leadership development and organizational culture within the small nonprofit ministry setting. She is passionate about encouraging fellow women in their roles as leaders. Defining our identity as a steward of God informs her perspective on everything – faith, leadership and spiritual transformation.

 

Dr. R. Scott Rodin, President, The Steward’s Journey, will be teaching two workshops at The Outcomes Conference 2019. Both focus on how to become a Steward Leader. We highly recommend these two sessions for those who want to go deeper.

Up-Rooted: Owner Leader or Steward Leader?

This workshop will compare owner-leaders to steward leaders and make the case that steward leaders are uniquely equipped to lead effectively in the challenging environment of Christian ministry, and in the face of an increasingly hostile social culture. Outcomes: 1) Create an assessment of their own leadership style, 2) Discern a process of becoming a more faithful steward leader, and 3) Determine daily actions to take with them for the journey

Re-Rooted: Growing Deep as Steward Leaders

This workshop will build on Part 1 “Up-Rooted” and present three actions that will help every leader be better equipped to lead effectively; 1) Stepping off the throne of our own kingdom, 2) Developing deeper intimacy with God, and 3) Securing our identity in the One we follow. Outcomes: 1) Embrace three new commitments as steward leaders, 2) Integrate three new disciplines to guide their journey, and 3) Apply a steward leader prayer.

www.OutcomesConference.org

 

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