“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
—Mark 9:24

Many of us disentangle the secular from the spiritual, even if just a little. Whether it’s a lack of belief that prayer works, the Holy Spirit speaks, or the Word is alive, when we enter work mode it’s not hard for us to slip into some version of unbelief.

“We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit” (Acts 19:2). Too many Christians could say the same.

Christian leadership requires constant spiritual input. This is why I try to pray and/or read the Bible before I start my work day. If I miss a day or two, it creates a sense of distance.

When I’ve pulled away from God, the secular creeps back into my thinking. I rely on my own strengths, pray less and feel less compassionate (among other things.)

Come near to God and he will come near to you.
—James 4:8

Part of the solution is getting close to the Lord through regular reading, praying, worshiping and faith practicing. I say “practicing” because the more we do something, the better we get at it. Faith itself comes from God, but it is also a muscle that must be exercised to be effective.

As we lead, then, we must never lose sight of the unseen inner world of the Spirit. He is our leader, provider, protector, refiner—our everything.

Excerpted from Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership, by Tom Harper (DeepWater Books, 2019).