Make Me a Servant

A Leaders’ Ethos 

In ages past, God has taken teams of ordinary men to accomplish extraordinary feats. At the head of such teams was always a servant; a common man with the uncommon desire to yield fully to God.  

Likewise today, Providence raises up servant-leaders to lead teams through which God performs the impossible. 

The prayer

I desire to be such a servant,

Thus, I sincerely pray: 

Make me a John

Desiring to increase Your name at the expense of my own 

Make me shun popularity 

May fame not change who I am

Make me a Moses

To make my success my team’s success

Their mistakes, my mistakes

To choose delegation not micro-management and centralization

To train a Joshua to succeed me 

To inspire a generation to advance beyond me

To be content that others will accomplish what I will not

To make me the humblest of men

Make me a Joshua

Inspiring courage and faith

Precise in my obedience

Breaking down walls of the impossible

Make me a Gideon

Quick to deflect when praised

Slow to anger when accused

Trusting You can work through many or few

Make me a Daniel

Body healthy

Mind intelligent

Deeply spiritual

Excellent in everything

Compromising in nothing

Make me a David

Patiently trusting Your providence to be raised up

Humbly accepting Your discipline when brought down

Merciful towards the Sauls

Yet punishing the Joabs

Make me a Nehemiah

Burdened for your cause

Fearless against the enemy

Intrepid against compromise

Make me a Paul; give me all his songs when suffering 

Make me a Jonathan; audacious and first to the foray

Make me a Jacob; unimpressed with worldly rank, pomp and circumstance

Make me a Jehosaphat; confident in success through prayer and heeding Your prophets

Lead me not into: 

The jealousy of Saul

The arrogance of Uzziah

The compromise of Solomon

The showboating of Hezekiah

Make me a servant-leader

Last to eat, last to sleep, first to rise.

Finally, 

Make me like You

To lower myself 

To see no task as beneath me

To love my team as You love them

Willing to die that others might live 

Make me a servant

Amen

Epilogue 

Having thus prayed, I now rise to lead as did these servants

My team of natural men will witness supernatural results

We will be undaunted for with God we are indomitable

Our only option is success

For we cooperate with One who knows no failure