Leaders are proactive by nature, and our get-it-done nature has a way of bulldozing our way into the future. The problem we risk encountering is that our relentless, fast-paced, get-it-done-at-any-cost mindset can push us ahead of God, or out of step with Him. That’s one reason prayer is so important in the life of a leader. It keeps us in tune, in step, and in intimate relationship with God.

Over the next six posts, I want to point our attention to Jesus’ own instructions on how to pray, and what this means for us as leaders. In the Gospel of Matthew chapter six, Jesus gives us some familiar, and yet easily forgotten, instructions.

One of the leaders on Jesus’ team made a special request while Jesus was teaching on a mountainside—“Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus’ response to the request didn’t start with a 1-2-3 formula. He didn’t rattle off a name it and claim it prayer, like a quarter dropped in a candy machine guaranteed to fill his latest wish or want. Instead, Jesus started on the opposite end of the spectrum. He told his disciples how not to pray. The words that follow are an important motive-check. For those of us in leadership, these words provide an especially important warning. Jesus said:

“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” (Matthew 6:5-8)

When Jesus said, “shut the door behind you,” he was referring to the inner room inside of a home. It was a private room, unobservable from the street. Some even considered it a private chamber where you might retire for the night. Prayer is about intimacy, not publicity; about privacy, not pride; it’s relational, not transactional.

[bctt tweet=”Prayer is about intimacy, not publicity; privacy, not pride; relational, not transactional.” username=”stephenblandino”]

Jesus’ opening instructions on prayer are clear: The way you pray is as important as the words you pray. The motive behind your prayers is more important than the subject matter of your prayers.

In leadership, motives can be easily clouded by pride and our personal agendas. When tainted motives find their way into a leader’s prayers, everything the leader is praying for takes the hit. What the leader currently has is all the reward he or she will ever have.

[bctt tweet=”The motive behind your prayers is more important than the subject matter of your prayers.” username=”stephenblandino”]

God weighs the heart. If we desire to see God do something extraordinary in the people we serve and the organizations we lead, it begins with humble and authentic motives…even in our prayers. The way—that is the motives—with which we pray make the difference.

Jesus said, “your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him.” Don’t taint your prayers with impure motives or praise-seeking pride. That’s how not to pray. Instead, let authenticity and humility be the engine that drives your prayers. Those are the prayers our Heavenly Father responds to.