Pray To Find Favor

Shawn Sommerkamp • June 9, 2017

Nearly every Christian I have ever met says they pray to God about their career. Whether it be to achieve success, get help dealing with a coworker, find support for leading a company, or land that big raise, they all pray. Very few, I have found over the years, actually pray to find favor.

Nehemiah desired to go and rebuild the city of Jerusalem after captivity. He was the cup bearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia. He knew he would need support for his boss in order to pursue his dreams. So he prayed this:

Nehemiah 1:11 "Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man."

He then went before the king to serve him his wine. The king noticed the long look on his servant’s face and asked him what was wrong. Nehemiah went on to ask the king for a good deal of support, and we see him set off to reach his goal:

Nehemiah 2:8 "And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests."

Nehemiah prayed to God to find favor in the presence of the king and God granted his request.

As faithful Christians, we have access to a mighty God who wants us to achieve our dreams. All we have to do is ask.

  • Ruth found favor in the eyes of Boaz ( Ruth 2:2,10 )
  • Hannah found favor in the eyes of Eli ( 1 Samuel 1:18 )
  • Joseph found favor in the eyes of Potiphar ( Genesis 39:4 )
  • Esther found favor in the eyes of King Xerxes ( Esther 7:3 )

These are specific examples of Biblical heroes who found favor in the eyes of someone else in authority. They are examples that the same can happen for us.

It can be as simple as remembering to pray about it. Pray to God each day that you will find favor in the eyes of your work colleagues. Are you a CEO? Pray to find favor in the eyes of the Board of Directors. Are you a line manager? Pray to find favor in the eyes of the Director. Are you a Vice President? Pray to find favor in the eyes of the executive leadership team. Are you an individual contributor? Pray to find favor in the eyes of your manager.

This is one of the most powerful and consistently answered prayers I have ever experienced. I believe it is part of the promise Jesus gives when he says we need not worry about food or clothing or shelter:

Matthew 6:25 “For this reason I say to you, [ n ]do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Our careers are intimately tied to our fundamental life needs. We can ask God to allow us to find favor in the eyes of others in relation to our day to day work as well as something as simple as an interview. We can ask it before a big presentation or even a sales pitch. We can pray to find favor in something as specific as a pay raise.

Keep this truth fresh in your mind. Pray it each day before you head into work, and watch what God will do in your career. You’ll be amazed at personally invovled He is, then your faith will grow, then you will lead others to do the same.

Shawn Sommerkamp is a motivational speaker and Executive Coach with 20+ years of Fortune 100 leadership experience. He founded Motivationeer™ to coach Christian professionals how to use their career to glorify God and support local church growth.

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