The Anchored Entrepreneur

Unwanted Rest to Prepare for 2025

Unwanted Rest

I thought I was ready to hit the ground running and focus on execution in January. But before I could start, I was forced to pause.

After Christmas, I took time off to travel and visit family. But I didn’t want to rest; I wanted to move forward. I wasn’t burned out, nor was I anxious about missed opportunities. Instead, I felt energized, clear, and ready for 2025.

Despite this clarity, I started the year in a position of rest. Surprisingly, a new word came to mind as a theme for the year: Preparation.

This unwanted rest, allowed me to revisit my creativity and rediscover skills that had taken a back seat while running my business. I was given time to stretch my mind and was given a expanded perspective on my work and vision for 2025.

So, I’m entering this new year reminded of the resources and talents God has given me to use for His glory.

The question we all ask God

While working on the next section of The Anchored Entrepreneur, I held a few executive coaching sessions with Christian entrepreneurs. Despite being at different stages in their businesses, they shared a strikingly similar question:

"What’s next, God? What do You have for me?"

Their questions kept circling my mind, distracting me from the content I thought I needed to focus on. So I leaned into the distracting thoughts and I started exploring them. What began as an effort to clear my mind turned into something entirely new.

I recently completed an exercise I call The 40 Day Pray for Rain. This exercise is 40 days of intentional prayer about one specific request, combined with journaling about how God moves during that time. Every time I’ve done this, I’ve come away closer to God and more clear about the work He’s calling me to do next.

After reflecting on my clients’ questions and my recent experience with prayer, I found the connection between them. I believe the answer to my clients’ questions can be found in intentional prayer.

Purpose of Prayer

What is the purpose of prayer? Prayer is a discipline that renews us and brings us closer to God.  At its core, prayer is an act of humility, removing ourselves as the focus and bowing before the Creator of the universe. In a life often dictated by speed and productivity, Prayer makes us pause and reorients ourselves towards God. 

The Bible tells us that we don’t know what we should pray for but the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, “groaning” on our behalf (Romans 8:26). In prayer, we bring our burdens to God, recognizing that we are not in control. Prayer becomes a space to:

• Express praise for who God is

• Lament the pain and struggles we face

• Lay down our burdens and surrender them to Him

• Confess our sins and receive His forgiveness

The Next Section of the Anchored Entrepreneur: The 40 Day Pray for Rain

During one of the most challenging seasons of my life, I committed to 40 days of focused prayer, documenting my observations along the way. I couldn’t have foreseen the profound impact it would have, not just in that moment, but years later, as this simple exercise continues to shape me. 

Because of this impact, the next section of The Anchored Entrepreneur walks you through the step by step process of The 40 Day Pray for Rain.

This exercise is designed to intentionally seek God by bringing a specific prayer request before Him and laying it at His feet. The goal is not to get the outcome we pray for but to share the desire of our heart before God and recognize the outcome is in his hands.

Over 40 days, you bring the same request before God and document what you observe along the way. I have found that this intentional prayer transforms your heart as well as your circumstances. 

While I rarely received the exact outcome I prayed for, God always provided what I truly needed:

• Revealing sin to bring healing and repair relationships

• Unexpected blessings born from seemingly tragic circumstances

• Peace in the midst of pain

• Clarity and direction in seasons of confusion

• A completely unexpected journey that led to deeper purpose

• Finding rest and enjoying God’s presence

Seeking where God wants me

Whether you find yourself in a season of abundance or famine, you may often return to the same question: What’s next? Where does God want me to go, and what does He want me to do?

Sometimes this uncertainty centers on hoping for financial provision. Other times, it involves choosing between two paths or searching for a path altogether. In the midst of this desire for clarity and peace, it’s easy to fall into one of two traps:

1. Trusting in ourselves and our abilities

2. Treating God like a wish-maker

This prayer guide is designed to help you avoid both pitfalls. It invites you to pray with intentionality, asking God to bring the rain:

• Move me where You want me.

• Make me new again.

• Heal and prepare me for the work You have set before me.

• Draw me closer to You.

• Help me trust that all things are in Your hands.

By engaging in this practice, I have found a deeper connection with God and a renewed trust in His provision and timing.

Check out The 40 Day Pray for Rain to explore more about this exercise and use the printable PDF below to use as a template to help track your progress.

Coming Soon

One of the most important themes in The Anchored Entrepreneur and my work as an Executive Coach is that you need to know where you are going to make progress. This exercise has been a powerful way for me to draw close to God and become more aware of how he’s moving. 

I also recognize that I need to add more resources that can help Christian Entrepreneurs continue to integrate their spiritual life and their businesses together.

I still have plans to tackle the following over the next couple of months:

• A comprehensive section on Milestones and Goal Setting

• Videos to accompany the previous sections

• Downloadable PDFs for the exercises

• More resources to develop spiritual disciplines

Lastly, if you feel stuck finding your direction, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d be happy to connect and see how I can best serve you.

May you be Anchored in Christ,
Jacob Dyke