Lead with Prayer: The Spiritual Habits of World-Changing Leaders

by Ryan Skoog, Peter Greer, Cameron Doolittle

Discover the prayer habits of world-changing leaders that will transform your life and your leadership.

Experienced leaders will tell you that you can’t lead on your own. The pressure, the impossible decisions, the high risks, the temptations, the people, the overwhelming schedule—it’s too much. Some leaders seek outside help. They pray.

Looking for help in their own leadership, entrepreneur Ryan Skoog, CEO Peter Greer, and executive advisor Cameron Doolittle set out to investigate how leaders pray. What do they say to God? How often do they pray, and for how long? Where do they pray? And how on earth do they make time for prayer?

Skoog, Greer, and Doolittle spent three years researching. They logged over one hundred hours of interviews with leaders in six continents who collectively serve in over one hundred countries. They researched or spoke with global entrepreneurs and business executives of Fortune 500 companies, as well as some of the most influential pastors and ministry leaders in the world—leaders such as Here in this book, the authors share the spiritual habits, techniques, and practices of these world-changing leaders, revealing specific details of their prayer lives. In addition, the book includes prayers for leaders to use in their own prayer time as well as tools for how to cultivate a personal and organizational commitment to prayer.

By allowing these men and women to lead us in prayer, we learn not only how to pray but also how to build a culture of prayer wherever we lead. It is only when our businesses, ministries, and churches pray that they will be transformed.

Genres: Leadership, Christian, Prayer, Faith, Christian Living, Nonfiction, Theology

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 16, 2024

About the author

Ryan Skoog has co-founded several travel technology companies, such as Faith Ventures and Yonder Travel Insurance, and he is also the founder and president of VENTURE, a nonprofit that works in the toughest places of the world, serving war refugees, trafficked people, oppressed children, and the unreached. VENTURE has planted thousands of churches that serve in their own communities to rescue girls from trafficking, start farms, and train in microenterprise and feminine hygiene, leading to generational transformation. Ryan is the co-author of the book Chosen: A 30 Day Devotional.

Reviews

[Luke Blades · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very difficult to finish because every time you think about picking it up, you just end up praying. I suppose that’s what it was trying to do.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book deserves more stars - I’ll be back with a more thorough review eventually. If you are a Christian leader, read this book. If you do not consider yourself a leader, read it anyway.

[Sarah Pascual · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a phenomenal book! Everyone in leadership (ministry and otherwise) should read this! They cast vision for what prayer can look like both organizationally and personally, and follow up with really practical ideas. This is one of the best books I’ve read this year so far!

[Madelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Current life events, combined with this book, have expanded my view of God and prayer.

[Hannah Schlieman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has changed my outlook on prayer! Ryan, Peter, and Cameron have delivered a lifechanging composition filled with incredible stories and testimony on the power of prayer, from around the world. The tools provided in each chapter are practical and powerful. I have started to incorporate some of these practices into my prayer life and can already see things changing in a way I never thought possible. Great read and lessons for EVERYONE, including people who may not be a "leader". I will be recommending this book to for the rest of my life!

[Jacob Hood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best practical book I’ve read on prayer. Highly recommend!

Most prayer books are about the theology of prayer or talking about the intimacy you get with God in prayer, and I love those.

But finally a book about how to build a life of prayer, personally or organizationally. Lots of practical application, has all the types of prayer (abiding, intercession, personal, communal, retreats), and case studies from some of the best leaders in the world applying these practices.

[Kaitlyn Barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is one of those books I will continue to come back to as I walk with Jesus. practical and impactful.

[Rylee Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

So thankful to have read this book for work! It was such a helpful read and gave great truth/perspective- WE CAN DO NO GOOD THING APART FROM HIM!
This book is for anyone and everyone.

[Katherine Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prayer is so sweet and so powerful. This book gives so many examples and practical applications to prayer. I read one chapter almost every day the past month and it brings tears to my eyes to think about the ways the Lord has used this book to shift my heart towards Him and deepen my desire to sit in His presence. What a gift! I’m telling everyone I know about this one. And on my way to go pray right now.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good: A Clarion call to intentionality towards prayer for those who lead. A few good practical ideas and tools.

The bad: Lacked careful handling of several texts. A few heretical ideas.

[Kendall Schoenike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I need to pray more

[Cole Di Carlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some very impactful things taken from this book, and that’s how it earned four stars from me, though much of it was directed toward more Christian-based/founded/open organizations.

Takeaways & Quotes
- “…an overemphasis on leadership and an underemphasis on the presence of Christ can lead to tragedy, personally and organizationally.”
- “wasting time with God” - spending time with him the way good friends get together without any agenda
- Ernest Hemingway’s six-word story: “Baby shoes. For sale. Never used.”
- “If a six-word story can pack such power, imagine the power of a similarly brief prayer.”
- “One-sentence prayers, drawn from a deeply-rooted relationship with God, carry the power and grace of heaven.”
- Study of people having to sit alone and in quiet for 15-minutes with only a button that administered a small electric shock showed that 67% of men and 25% of women self-administered the shock. The research team concluded that people prefer doing to thinking.
- Distractions are natural during prayer, but there are other forces, spiritual warfare, taking place.
- “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer IS the greater work.”
- Pray your org chart

[James Zeller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book. This book impacted the way I view prayer, gave practical ways to accomplish prayer, and gave insight into prayer implementation strategies within an organization.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, especially the first half! I was constantly highlighting little nuggets of information. I felt challenged and encouraged to make some shifts in my own prayer life and this book gave me great tools to do that!

[Brandon H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Pastors and theologians write and teach about how to hear the voice of God. Some have ten steps. Others have four steps but while the number of steps may vary, we found that what matters is a heart that is surrendered to God, a mind that is fixed on God, and a soul that is quiet before God." - Ryan Skoog

This was one of the most inspiring books on the subject of prayer that I have ever read! If you can only read one book on prayer, I'd recommend this one.

[Lukas Kilimann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m grateful for this book’s earnest belief in prayer and for the approach the authors took to understanding it. It was encouraging to hear so many stories of persistent pray-ers around the world and the incredible ways God has blessed their petitions, intercessions, and requests. I was reminded afresh about the incredible opportunity I have to know my Savior as a friend and to TALK WITH HIM. This book wasn’t five stars for me because there was a tinge of prosperity gospel to their message, which I don’t fault them for, because their purpose was to communicate how God answer prayers, but I wish there would have been a little more acknowledgment of that.

[Jehiel Ortiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a gift from someone who I love, appreciate, admire, respect and the list goes on. He is a leader and a great one. A leader who model the faith in God and praying to God.

I enjoyed reading this book. It is clever, well writed even there were three authors.

This book teach. It guide you through the process of developing a prayer leadership.

Read it patiently and calm. Put in practice what you read and agree with.

There are some topics / opinions/ ideas that I’m. It agree with, but those are not bad. Just a different theological approach / perspective.

I encourage you to read it.

[Lavon Herschberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most immediately practical books I’ve read on prayer, especially for a leader. It’s filled with inspiring stories from around the world, yet it manages to avoid resorting too much to “since crazy story A is true, point B must be true too”. This book also motivates well without guilt-tripping. I have 9+ practices I’d love to implement written inside the front cover. This is one I will reference often for the quoted prayers and tools at the end of each chapter. Highly recommend for everyone, not just organizational leaders!

[Gracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this initially for work; it transforms the reader to humbly cry out in gratitude for the incredible power of God over situations and peoples never seen or heard. What a God we get to know…this book is a blessing. Highly recommend for spiritual encouragement and conviction to read and see God’s hand - and actively pray in trust that His loving kindness allows us to be a part of His glory on display in this life and the life to come.

[Carla Cramsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many practical takeaways for a richer prayer life and lots of encouraging stories that aligned my heart to the importance and power of prayer. I knocked off one star because I wouldn’t have minded it to be a little shorter as some of it was redundant or not new to me. I took so many notes though, and will be returning to them often!

[Paige Pietrofesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book over the course of the year. Really appreciated the wisdom in it & was encouraged to continue praying especially as a leader. Enjoyed this book and would recommend esp to people leading something

[Cole Ragsdale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big fan.

[Kyle Stoughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s so much to learn from the many practices of praying leaders, and this book has a wealth of insight on how to make prayer a priority for yourself and your organization.

[Thomas Woodby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unexpectedly good; full of convicting reminders

[Laura W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read yet inspiring book on prayer.

[Caleb Penney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful, important, and approachable. This book taught me crucial and practical lessons about truly living in one world while truly belonging to another. A necessary read for all Christians.

[Grace Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! This book gave practical application on how to build a life on prayer in personal and organizational life. Loved the structure of the book with prayers and prayer tools at the end of each chapter. There is so much to learn from this book - suggest it for anyone but especially if you are in a leadership position!

Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.
—Oswald Chambers

[Laura Loewenhagen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend for leaders. This book has opened my heart and mind to the importance of prayer. It is a must to build this muscle of prayer and keep it as a priority in all I do.

[Eavan Gilhuly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great audiobook with practical tools

[Adam Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this book is specifically written with organizational leaders in mind, this book will be of tremendous value for any mature Christian wanting to deepen their prayer life. We all know the difference between a person who plays an instrument and a musician, or between a person who occasionally goes fishing, and a fisherman. Through moving examples taken from ministries and movements all over the world, the authors illustrate the characteristics and practices of Christians who have become not just people who pray, but true pray-ers, men and women whose lives and ministries are built upon and characterized by deep, extensive, effective prayer.

The authors provide inspiring illustrations of what the personal habits and spiritual disciplines of prayer look like in the real lives of leaders in ministry and business who have oriented their lives around and through their lifestyle of prayer. The authors draw on a vast network of Christian leaders from around the globe to identify and illustrate these practices, and show what this life of prayer looks like in practice in the lives of real people, and these stories and testimonies are the best part of the book. God is working through humble, praying, leaders in amazing ways. Each chapter focusses on one habit or practice of effective praying leaders, and provides numerous examples. Each chapter then concludes with powerful written prayers, and suggests practical tools for addressing the topic in your own life, such as charts for planning a prayer schedule over a week or prompts and sentence prayers to practice focusing on God’s presence throughout the day.

Though any Christian can benefit from most of this material, this book is specifically written with organizational leaders in mind. We are not thinking of small group leaders, or Sunday School teachers, but CEO’s, owners, and ministry leaders, the ones at the top whose job it is to set the tone, culture, and vision for an organization. The last section of the book discusses practical and effective means for leaders to build a culture of prayer into their business or organization. Though it begins with a personal life of prayer, prayer can become foundational to an entire organization, with the appropriate leadership, priority, and investment.

The book is a fairly quick read, and as such, some readers may wish for more depth in some areas. In general the book assumes the reader is a mature, growing Christian, generally familiar with spiritual disciplines, and focusses more on motivation than providing detailed instructions. The book encourages praying based on scripture, and offers a number of illustrations, but does not provide any detailed examples or study guides. Fasting is encouraged in one chapter, and though a number of possible ways one could practice this are illustrated by the examples provided, a person new to fasting may want to look into other more focussed resources before diving in.

Leading with Prayer is a valuable and inspiring resource for the church, particularly those in leadership in ministry and business.