What Does Faith Have to Offer Entrepreneurs in Times of CrisisSample

In times of crisis, Paul is encouraged by personal prayer, but also by the prayers of his friends in Corinth (2 Cor. 1:1). This is the testimony of many Christians. Prayer connects us to Jesus and God the Father. For Paul, prayer is like sharing his life with a good friend. With someone, i.e. Jesus, who can sympathize with us completely (Hebr. 4:15-16), and yet is stronger than any forces in this life. Someone who knows fear from His own experience. Someone who knows what it is like to be homeless and without food. Someone who knows what it is like to be rejected. But also someone who has tasted abundance. Jesus was fully human, just as we are. This is why Jesus can support and help us amid our sadness, crisis, or a life of plenty (Hebr. 2:18). We may approach Jesus as a good friend. As someone who wants to be near and wants us to call on Him if we are in need. He has promised that He will show us his compassion and mercy and that He wants to be there in our hardships without demanding anything in return (Hebr. 4:16).

Through Jesus, God now also gives us access to his wisdom, insight, strength, and power. As a Christian, I am very grateful for all this, and I want to put it to use. This is why I take time every morning to pray and share my life with God. Often in these moments of quiet, I receive thoughts from God that encourage and help me.

For example, I remember being worried about the financial situation of the movement for entrepreneurs that I was the leader of. I was preoccupied with it, although I knew that I could trust God for this. Many people had told me so, and I knew that if I was doing God’s will, He would also provide the means that were needed. But knowing this in your head and feeling or experiencing it in your inner being are two completely different things.

One of my friends once told me, ‘The largest distance a person needs to bridge is the distance between his heart and his head.’ Bridging this gap was my struggle. At night at about 2 a.m. I woke up. I was unable to sleep anymore. I had to get up. I had to pray and ask God for confidence. I wanted to experience peace to be able to trust Him. That night God spoke to me and said, ‘You won’t learn to trust Me if I give you certainty and a feeling that everything is alright. Trust is revealed in uncertainty, in doing the job I called you to and continuing to do so without knowing where it will end. Tomorrow, just go and do what you have to do, get to work, and trust Me.’ This was exactly what I needed. The financial crisis had not yet been overcome, but I received peace and energy to do the good things, instead of being distracted by anxieties about the financial situation.

Question for the day
Who do you meet when you pray?