There’s a version of prayer that’s really just strategy.
You pray before the meeting. You ask God to bless the deal. But you never stopped to ask whether you should be in that meeting at all.
That’s not faithfulness. That’s willfulness with a spiritual wrapper.
David Morken and his co-founder at Bandwidth spent years building their company. At one point, they went to over 40 venture raises, pitching institutional investors who didn’t understand who they were or why they built the way they did. They prayed before every meeting. But they never asked the more important question: Should we even be raising this money?
Looking back, David called that season willful. Not faithful.
The Bible gives you both sides of this.
Saul was told to wait for Samuel before going into battle. He didn’t wait. It cost him almost everything. Gideon waited. He went into battle with 300 men against an army and won. And David, when kings were supposed to go to war, stayed home. That passivity cost him too.
Willfulness isn’t just doing too much. It’s also doing nothing when you’re supposed to act.
Steve Bell was 28 when his contracting business collapsed. The clients he’d been working for got arrested in an FBI drug sting. He lost $100,000. Owed most of it to his suppliers and subcontractors. His attorney told him he’d have a dozen lawsuits within a month. Bill collectors would harass his wife day and night.
Steve visited every person he owed money to personally. He told them all he had was his good name. He asked them to trust him. He paid every cent back, with interest. It took six and a half years.
Then, in 2008, after years of rebuilding, November hit. The market collapsed. His company went from over 200 employees to 85 in twelve months. He sat in his office one night, unable to sleep, wrestling with God.
Why is this happening? We’ve been faithful.
And the answer that came back was a question: Do you trust me?
Since that night, his company has grown fivefold.
None of that is a formula. It doesn’t work like that. But there’s something underneath both stories worth sitting with.
Psalm 127 says unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it work for nothing.
The watchman who stays up all night to guard the city. The contractor who rises early and works late. Both of them are doing their job. And both of them are missing the point if they think the city’s safety depends entirely on them.
God fills the gap. That’s the promise. Not that you don’t have to work. But the outcome isn’t fully yours to carry.
J.D. Greear puts it plainly. Success isn’t how much you make or how fast you grow. It’s faithfulness across all the roles God has given you. Your relationship with God. Your family. Your church. Your friendships. Your health. Business is one role, not the only one.
You can’t call yourself successful if you build a great company and fail everyone around you.
And here’s the part that actually helps. When you’re focused on faithfulness rather than outcomes, the weight shifts. You still work hard. You still make decisions. But you’re not the one holding the city together at 2 am.
You can sleep.
Not because things are fine. But because faithfulness is your job. Results belong to God.
So the question worth sitting with this week: Are you being faithful, or just willful?
Watch the full session here: Session 5 – Faithful vs. Willful
Join the movement: https://faithdrivenentrepreneur.org/
Credit: Faith Driven Entrepreneur
