Pay Someone to Pray for Me? Origin Story, Part 5

Go here to read Part 4: Could I Ask God for a Business Idea?

In the fall of 2019, I went to another marketing workshop, this one put on by the marketing expert and Christian businessman Perry Marshall. I sat across from him at dinner the first night, and I’d come with a whole list of questions ready.

“How do I market something as unpopular as prayer?”

As the whole table burst into laughter, Perry said, “I can see it now: How to Market Prayer, and Other Hot Commodities like Moses, Chastity, and Cicero!”

Oh, to have such a quick wit!

Another young person piped up: “‘How to market prayer!’ You could market that on Pinterest! That would work!”

Later, as the conversation was winding down, Perry said, “You could hire an intercessor. Have somebody pray for your business.”

That was contrarian advice. At that point I’d earned something like $100 dollars, and had spent many, many multiples of that on training and website hosting and all the things, not to mention my time. How do I even approach my husband about this? “Hey, hon—let’s hire an intercessor for something that costing us money.”

But I finally asked him, he said, “Sure!”

The first person I asked—a precious sister in Christ—said, “I’m not comfortable with that, because the Bible says, ‘Freely you have received, freely give.’”

And Jesus does say that, but he also tells the disciples that hosts will feed and shelter them, and they bless the houses when they leave.

Would it be a worthwhile exchange to give two disciples food and lodging for a night, and have them bless my house? Would I come out the better?

Undoubtedly, yes.

Scripture establishes precedence for supporting ministers of the gospel, such as the group of women who supported Jesus’ ministry: Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and several others.

But I would never want someone to act against their conscience, so I asked my next friend.

She said, “Oh, I don’t traffic in the Holy Spirit.”

Huh. When David appointed and paid people to tend the temple and lead worship, they weren’t trafficking in the Holy Spirit, but worshipping God.

Friends three and four were simply too busy.

I had not expected that following Perry’s suggestion would be so difficult!

And this took months, because after each interaction, I needed time to process. I’d ask a friend, and then wait to pray through what was on my heart.

In February 2020 I asked my parents: “If I make this a free challenge, would you announce it to the Sonlight list?”

I’d worked for a year and had five people whose lives were changed. Would they be willing to offer it more widely?

Yes.

Starting that February, about two thousand women went through the Prayer Refresh email series.

I started fielding questions almost immediately.

I thought: I’m reasonably okay at prayer, but I don’t have the answers. What can I do?

I had recently heard some recordings featuring Paul Van Hoesen and Bob Perry, talking about how to pray for business. They knew more about prayer than I did. Would Bob Perry mentor me?

That winter, I would walk and pray and cry (literally): “Please, God, please let Bob mentor me.” It was very undignified. But I was desperate for more.

I worked on a manuscript about praying for business, based on my own parents’ experience praying for Sonlight for thirty years, and on what Paul and Bob had taught in their workshops. I thought: I have a manuscript. I can ask Bob for a little of his time to help me finish it.

Then it turned out that he had used my parents’ Sonlight Curriculum homeschool for over twenty years with his own children. My family agreed to hire him as an intercessor over Sonlight and over our family.

So he was willing to mentor me.

Lord, thank you for your timing. Thank you for your direction, and for the people who serve as guideposts along the way, sharing their wisdom, often in unexpected directions. If I hadn’t asked Perry Marshall my question, I would never have imagined my most immediate need was a paid intercessor.

Thank you for the ways you throw us together, sometimes in amazing, startling ways.

Praise your precious name. Amen.

On to Part 6: It Might Be Me, But It’s Probably God