Taking Human Relations to God in Prayer

Praying for “You Incorporated” – Part 8

The Business of Prayer – Part 5.8

One of the most common departments you find in any business is its HR department. HR in this case refers to human resources. For the business God has given you in your life, rather than call it human resources, we like to call it human relations. How you relate to the humans in your life which is your business. If your life is your business, then what’s your HR department like? How is it operating? What accomplishments do you have to report to Jesus? What human relations needs do you have to put in the budget and company (life) plans for this year?

In “The Business of Prayer”, specifically “Praying for You Incorporated,” I’d like to offer some next level thoughts using two categories: 1) people, and 2) people related activities. Since these are the two main functions of an HR department, we will begin here. If God were to ask you about your people and the activities impacting your people what would you say to Him?

Reporting on the people I’m responsible for.
A company has to maintain a very accurate list of its employees because this is very important for a number of reasons. If you wish to have next level results, you too must treat your people as important. Question: do you know your people? Pamela and I were challenged with this idea many years ago to get serious about our people and pray for them. It sounds good and very religious until you actually perform the activity. We have identified what we call “seven levels of relationships” that directly impact a person’s life. Here are some of the ideas we had when it came to identifying the people we interact with.

Level 0 – Family
This is the default level. Question: do you have a list of all those in your family so that you can track who you’ve prayed for? That might be too much for you; let me step back. When was the last time you spoke to God about your parents? Your siblings? Your children? Your family?
Level 1 – Neighbors
This level represents the people who are only in your life by proximity. When was the last time you prayed for your physical neighbors? How about the people you interact with at your local church? The parents whose children play ball with your child(ren)? Do you have a set of prayer focuses that you regularly review? Are you praying for your co-workers? The person you report to in the office? Do you have prayer lists that you track of others’ needs? This is what it means to take prayer to the next level. Let me keep going.
Level 2 – Disciples
This is the category that represents those who learn from you. What are you asking God to do for those who consider you a mentor, role modern, or more experienced person? This is next level stuff. What are you praying with them in mind?
Level 3 – Friends
This level represents your lowest level of friends. How many people do you consider to be your friend? List them out and pray for their particular needs as you know them. You call them friends don’t you? What kind of friend doesn’t pray for their friend? Let me answer that, the kind of friend I don’t want in my life. Let’s keep moving before I get caught up.
Level 4 – Inner Circle
Your inner circle is the friends who are very close to you. If you’re praying for anyone’s wellbeing it would have to be the people in this level. Do you even know what’s going on with your inner circle of friends well enough to pray for them? Your life is the business God has given you and He’s looking for you to live it and manage it well. It includes loving and caring for your people. What is God saying to you about your inner circle of friend? If you don’t know, it just means you’re not praying. This is next level prayer!
Level 5 – Closest Friend
Your closest friend is just that, your closest friend. How can you say you have a best friend and you’re not praying for them? I can’t imagine not praying for my closest friend’s wife, child, and employment. I can’t imagine not praying for his calling, gifts, talents, and endeavors. What kind of closest friend would I be if I never conferred with God about him or her? This is the business of prayer!
Level 6 – Equal Partner
This level represents a marriage. A husband should be praying for his wife and a wife should be praying for her husband. In fact, one should have more to speak to God about regarding their spouse than themselves. The scripture says that the husband places his wife above himself and the wife places her husband above herself. Therefore, your prayer time should be consumed with the needs, desires, accomplishments, goals, and affairs of your spouse. I thought you wanted to go to the next level!
Level 7 – The Boss of Me
This last and highest relationship level is the one that identifies who’s your boss. Most people would love to say this is God, but the truth is for most it is not. Therefore, we need to pray about this to make sure we don’t have something other than God in the place of God. This is next level prayer and there is no room for pretending. Next level prayer is about getting results that the average person misses out on when they pray. What is God saying to you about who or what you have on the throne of your life, which is your business? Prayer, next level prayer, gives you an opportunity to clean up the areas that are all messed up. We get to clean up who or what we’ve placed ahead of God. This is the business of prayer.

Reporting on the activities for the people I’m responsible for.
For most companies with an HR department, this team handles activities that support the employees. There’s training, important updates, payroll, employee challenges, benefits, etc. Have you ever given any thought to what your family needs are in this area? How about the people who are a part of your world? What activities have you provided for your life’s people? Allow me to provide a few examples.

Reading plans.
For my family, we have reading plans. We read a number of books, but more importantly we have Bible reading plans. It’s these plans that give us interaction around God’s Word. Through prayer, we come up with ways to implement our plans as well as the selection. What if you asked God what your reading plan should look like? And how should you implement it? This is the business of prayer.
Exercise plans.
This is a good one. An exercise plan or dieting plan is one of the most common goals people have. The challenge is, we tend to make these decisions without consulting God. How can you expect God-results without including Him in the process? You can not. That might be the reason why you are not seeing the results you desire. What would God say or offer if you asked Him about your exercise and dieting plans? This sounds like next level prayer.
Meal plans and eating.
I follow a personal development speaker who makes nutrition a priority. Today, meal planning and eating well is a major topic in our society. The question is with so many options out there, how does one know what’s best for them and their family? Since there are so many opinions, it’s hard to trust any of the opinions out there. So what can one do? I suggest you pray about it. Not pray in the normal sense, but next level prayer. Do your own research and share your findings with God so that He can guide you along the way. Involve Him in your plans and you will find better methods to improve your nutrition. I know this, apart from Him you can’t succeed. ^[1] It’s time to take prayer to the next level.
Vacations
Here’s the last example we will share. Most everyone vacations. However, not all vacations are alike. In fact, when you invite God into how you vacation, your vacation goes from ordinary to extraordinary. Why don’t you try inviting God into the planning activities for your next vacation? Sounds like it’s a win-win, when you do. Next level prayer is learning how to pray forreal. This is the business of prayer.

Don’t miss the point. Think of your life like a business that God has given you. How would you run your own HR department? What would you like to see as benefits of those connected to you? What do you have to offer and even desire to offer? What requirements and details of being a part of your life would you care to establish? When the scripture says you can pray about everything, take it literally and figurative. ^[2] You’re missing out on a lot simply because you never asked. ^[3] It’s time to do a lot more asking. This is the business of prayer.

Question: if your life, which is the business God has given you, has an HR department, how’s yours operating?

[1] John 15:5 NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬, Bible.com, accessed June 30, 2022, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/JHN.15.5.NLT
[2] Philippians 4:6 NLT, Bible.com, accessed June 30, 2022, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/PHP.4.6.NLT
[3] James 4:2 NKJV, Bible.com, accessed June 30, 2022, https://www.bible.com/bible/114/JAS.4.2.NKJV

All Scripture references used by permission, see our Scripture copyrights.

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