Running a small business is full of challenges. Today, business owners are struggling with controlling costs, finding qualified employees, managing cash flow, and attracting new customers. If you are a Christian business owner, you should seek the Lord’s guidance and ask Him for wisdom in managing your business. You can also ask the Lord to bless your business.
You may think it is selfish to ask the Lord to bless your business. However, consider what can happen when God blesses your business. You have more opportunities and resources to bless others.
The ways a successful business owner can bless those in their community include:
- Creating jobs. Most of the business owners I work with express a desire to create jobs that pay well and provide their workers with the opportunity to do meaningful work in a positive environment. As God blesses your business, you may have the opportunity to provide your employees with learning opportunities, good wages, employment benefits, respect, and flexibility.
- Providing quality products and services. You created your business to meet the needs of your customers. As your business grows, you may have the ability to expand your product line, offer new services, and open new locations. These steps allow you to better meet your customers’ needs and serve more people.
- Mentoring future business owners. “Success breeds success.” As your employees and young people in your life observe you thriving as a business owner, they will watch and learn from you. You can mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs formally through a mentorship arrangement or informally through conversations and opportunities for professional development.
- Investing in your community. Successful business owners can improve their communities by making repairs and renovations to their workplaces, as well as by supporting local school activities, community programs, environmental causes, and cultural events. When my husband and I owned a pizza shop, we supported our community by advertising in local school athletic programs and providing food for the local high school’s after-prom party.
- Supporting local charities and nonprofits. In order to have the financial resources to invest in charities you care about, you need to achieve a level of financial success as a business owner. You may decide to support your local food pantry, a Little League sports team, a crisis pregnancy center, or an after-school program.
- Opening doors for those who need a chance or a second chance. As a successful business owner, you may be able to employ a person with a disability, provide a single mother with an opportunity to develop new skills, or offer a second chance to someone who needs a new start. Pray about how God can use you to help people who are struggling to find meaningful employment.
When we view business success as an opportunity to serve others rather than simply as a way to accumulate wealth, our perspective changes. The profit from a successful business can provide for our families, support employees, serve customers, strengthen our communities, and give us resources to help others.
Prayers Based on Scripture for Your Business
Here are some prayers based on Scripture that you can pray for your business.
Ask God to Bless and Establish Your Work
“Lord, I ask You to bless my business. Please establish the work of my hands and give lasting value to the work my employees and I do. May I use the success You provide to bless others.”(Based on Psalm 90:17)
“Father, I commit my business to You. Please guide my plans and give me the wisdom to accomplish what You want me to accomplish through this business.” (Based on Proverbs 16:3)
“Lord, I trust You with my heart, my life, and my business. I acknowledge that my abilities come from You. Help me to trust You rather than relying solely on my own understanding, and guide my decisions and my path.” (Based on Proverbs 3:5–6)
“Father, help me to honor You in my business and faithfully follow Your Word. Help me to make wise decisions and to remember that true success comes from walking in obedience to You.”(Based on Joshua 1:8)
Deuteronomy 28:12 also reminds us that God is able to bless the work of our hands. While this passage is part of God’s covenant with Israel, it can remind us to recognize God as the source of everything we have and to ask Him to bless the work we do.
“Father, help me remember that everything I have, comes from You. May You bless the work of my hands and give me opportunities to use what You provide to bless others.” (Based on Deuteronomy 28:12)
Ask God to Help You Be Generous
“Father, help me never to put my hope in the riches of this world. May You provide what I need and give me opportunities to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share with those in need.” (Based on 1 Timothy 6:17–18)
Ask God to Give You Wisdom in Running Your Business
“Father, Your Word tells me that You generously provide wisdom when I ask for it. I ask You to give me wisdom to make the best decisions for my business. Please guide me in every aspect of the business and help me recognize when I need to seek wise counsel from others.” (Based on James 1:5)
“Lord, I trust You to direct my path as I make decisions about my business. Help me stay on the right path and rely on Your guidance rather than relying solely on my own understanding.”(Based on Proverbs 3:5–6)
Pray for the Right Employees
“Lord of the harvest, You know the needs of my business. Please provide the right workers for my business at the right time. I ask that You would provide employees who are skilled, dependable, reliable, and willing to do their best to serve our customers and help the business succeed.” (Based on Matthew 9:37–38)
“Father, give me an understanding heart and the ability to discern wisely when I hire employees. Help me recognize the strengths, character, and abilities of each person who applies. Give me wisdom to determine who will be a good fit for the position and for my business.” (Based on 1 Kings 3:9)
Solomon asked God for an understanding heart so that he could judge God’s people and discern between good and evil. While the passage is not specifically about hiring employees, it provides an excellent example of asking God for wisdom and discernment when we are responsible for making important decisions about other people.
Pray to Honor God Through Your Business
“Lord, help me conduct my business honestly and honorably. Help me serve my customers and employees well and use the abilities and resources You have given me in a way that brings glory to You.” (Based on 1 Peter 4:11)
“Father, may Your light shine through me so that others may see the good works You have enabled me to do and give glory to You.” (Based on Matthew 5:16)
Pray for Your Business
As you read through the Bible, God will open your eyes and heart to many other Scriptures that you can pray as you seek His guidance and blessing for your business. Scripture can remind you that your business is not separate from your Christian life. The decisions you make, the way you treat your employees and customers, and the way you use the resources God provides are all opportunities to honor Him.
Praying for your business does not mean that every business decision will succeed or that God will give you everything you ask for. It means that you are inviting God into your work and asking Him to give you wisdom and opportunities to serve others.
For more encouragement to pray Scripture for your family and your life, I recommend the book On the Same Page as God by Jenn Soehlin.
What Scriptures do you pray for your business.? Please share them in the comments. Your Bible verse may encourage another business owner who is praying about a decision or facing a challenge.
Susan's Reflections 