Living at the Pace of Prayer: A Surprising Strategy for Increase

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"Prayer is not a spare room in your house that you visit occasionally. It is the living room where you dwell constantly." - D.L. Moody

"The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat." - Lily Tomlin

Living at the pace of prayer is a way to slow down in order to go fast. Slowing down creates space for connection and connection is THE necessary ingredient for multiplication. If connection determines capacity, then living at the pace of prayer is vital to our success as leaders. Let me start with a question.

Is your pace sustainable?

In our consulting with leaders across various industries, we focus on five key metrics that act like a flywheel of performance; Communication, Relationships, Alignment, Execution and Capacity. Living at the pace of prayer makes sure we're not taking the first two metrics for granted. We may not want to admit it, but leaders like us often falsely believe that communication and relationships are forged in short sprints with minimal effort. While this can be true when a foundation is already laid, we often underestimate the time and intentionality it takes to communicate clearly and dig roots of relationships that can withstand the storms of execution. When we live at the pace of prayer, prayer goes to work for us and increases each of the 5 metrics above exponentially.

...we often underestimate the time and intentionality it takes to communicate clearly and dig roots of relationships that can withstand the storms of execution.

There seems to be a strategic resistance to living at the pace of prayer. Bob Sorge says that "all of hell's strategy is aimed at one thing: to keep you from the place (and pace) of prayer." Even now, I am glancing over at my to do list and feeling like I should divert my attention from writing this article to tackling more tangible outcomes. In response I pray, "Father, slow my heart rate and help me trust your pace."

I am convinced that living at the pace of prayer is beneficial not only for the profitability of our business, the connection of our families, but most vitally; the flourishing of our own soul. Jesus said, "remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

Jesus is recruiting us into living lives of exponential fruit. He is inviting us to live at the pace of prayer, walking with Him and talking with Him. This is no small leadership principle; He is teaching us how to multiply.

Living at the pace of prayer does not mean that we have to spend hours in isolated prayer each day. It simply means that we make prayer a priority in our lives and that we find ways to incorporate prayer into our daily routines. Instead of thinking prayer is about "more" time doing something that puts us further behind, we should think of prayer as "embedding" conversation with God into our current rhythms and rituals.

Why is it important to live at a slower pace?

Living at a slower pace is important for our physical, emotional, and spiritual health. When we are constantly rushed and stressed, our bodies are in a state of fight-or-flight mode. We all know what it feels like to across from the leaders who are franticly rushing to get their work done and tend to leave a wake of people who feel used or neglected, or both. Unfortunately, I've been guilty of this more times than I'd like to admit. This tears down communication and relationships which directly effects alignment, execution and capacity. "Father, help me put relationship before opportunity."

Living at a slower pace also gives us more time to connect with ourselves and with others. When we are not constantly rushing, we have more time to reflect on our thoughts and feelings, and to build stronger relationships with the people we care about. My wife and I consistently walk our neighborhood together. If we chose to run instead of walk, it would drastically change the level of connection that's possible. Slowing down to a walking pace allows us to expose our hearts, our hopes and listen to the needs of one another. That's the power of living at the pace of prayer. That's the invitation.

How to get started with living at the pace of prayer:

1. Be purposeful. Don't try to find more time. Embed prayerful conversation into your daily activities. For example: "Father, thank you for the meeting I'm about to walk into with my colleague. Help me to listen and see what's really happening here. Please bring peace and a positive outcome for everyone, amen." "Father, thank you for this article, I know you want to talk with me more. Help me be more intentional about living at a pace of prayer."
2. Be conversational. There are many different ways to pray, but one of my favorite ways to connect with God is to simply be conversational with Him. "God, I am so upset right now. Can you help me calm down." "God, I love you. That sunset is absolutely stunning. Thank you." "Lord, I need to talk about this with you. I don't understand why this is happening to me." God wants to have a conversation with you. You might be surprised at how He responds as well.
3. Be patient. It takes time to develop a habit of including God into your daily routine. Don't get discouraged if you slip up from time to time and forget. Just keep practicing, keep starting the conversation and allowing him to interrupt your thoughts by starting a conversation with you. Eventually, it will become a natural part of your life and you'll be living at the pace of prayer.

As we practice living at the pace of prayer, we will find that our lives are more peaceful and fulfilling. We may also discover that when connected to the vine throughout our day, the quality of decision making increases, the level of our joy increases, the ability and capacity to carry the weight of responsibility increases.

What is your prayer right now? Verbalize it to God. Be honest and raw. He can handle it.