PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP 2

Insights from Nehemiah

Principle # 2 A CHRISTIAN LEADER IS A PERSON OF PRAYER

One of the unique and vital elements of Christian leadership is prayer. Prayer is a principle that secular leadership does not hold to or practice. However, it is a divine necessity for Christian leaders. Nehemiah knew this well. There are nine prayers found in the book of Nehemiah. Most are brief, simple, and to the point prayers that were said on the spur of the moment. However, the first prayer is one of the classic prayers of Scripture (1:4-11).

True Christian empathy will lead to the throne of grace. A leader will be moved, not simply to weep and worry over God’s people, but to pray for them continually. He will bring them to the throne of grace again and again. Christian ministry begins not in the crowd, but in the closet. It starts in the presence of God, not in the presence of people.

A PRAYING LEADER INDICATES A CARING LEADER. To a believer caring and praying will go hand in hand. An uncaring person is a prayerless person. Concern leads to prayer. Concern grabs us when the Spirit of God shows us the reality of another’s need and the reality of the love and power of God to work in that person’s life.

A PRAYING LEADER INDICATES A PERSON OF FAITH. His faith is not self-centered, but God-centered. A self-centered person will be selfish with when he prays. A true Christian leader is selfless. A praying leader recognizes the need of others, the ability and willingness of God to act on behalf of His people, and will beg God to do so.

A PRAYING LEADER IS AN INTERCESSORY LEADER. He identifies himself with the people of God. Nehemiah prayed for God’s people (1:6) and interceded on their behalf and confessed their sin as if it were his own (1:7). John White observes: “Nehemiah had a sense of corporate responsibility which most of us lack today” [Excellence in Leadership, 23].

A PRAYING LEADER IS A PLEADING LEADER. Like Nehemiah we need to plead with God because our chief concern must be the testimony of God’s people to the world around them. It is born from a concern for God’s reputation as seen in and from His people. We need to echo Nehemiah’s cry, “they are your servants and your people” (1:10). We are His temple and His reputation is bound up with us.

A PRAYING LEADER IS A USEFUL LEADER. Prayer is not an option in Christian leadership, but a necessity. Prayerless leaders are leading our people down the path of  personal ego. God may work in spite of such leadership, but He is not working through such leadership. Prayer is the means to true, successful leadership.