A Letter-Writing Dog

Leadership

A courageous leader and extraordinary military strategist, General Patton knew how to get things done. While he was often considered brash, he had a huge heart that drove him. He loved his country, his family, and his dog. In fact, Willie, his bull terrier, traveled by his side all over Europe during his campaign in World War II, and Patton would mockingly take dictation from Willie and write letters to his other dog and grandchildren back home.

He also loved and trusted in God. In December of 1944, during a critical time in the war and a terribly rainy season, Patton instructed his chaplain to print 250,000 copies of a prayer asking the Lord for the rains to stop and distribute them to his troops.

He went to say, "Chaplain, sit down for a moment. I want to talk to you about this business of prayer. I am a strong believer in prayer. There are three ways men get what they want: by planning, by working, and by praying. Any great military operation takes careful planning or thinking. Then you must have well-trained troops to carry it out: that's working. But between the plan and the operation, there's always an unknown. That unknown spells victory or defeat, success or failure... Some people call that getting the breaks, I call it God... That's where prayer comes in. Up to now, in the Third Army, God has been very good to us. We have never retreated; we have suffered no defeats, no famine, no epidemics. This is because a lot of people back home are praying for us... But we have to pray for ourselves, too.“

"Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde. O Lord, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!" (2 Chronicles 14:11)

A good plan, hard work, and prayer. That's the combination. Leave one part out, and your odds of success diminish greatly.

When is the last time you prayed over your business? Prayed over your team? Prayed over your customers? What about your marriage, your family, your children? Think of what would happen if, even in a quiet internal way, you prayed over every interaction you had today and asked that God's blessing be upon it.

Between the plan and the operation, there's always the unknown.

Between the plan and the operation, there's always the unknown. You can leave that factor to chance, or you can step in and ask God for his favor. It is in His name that we can trust and come against any enemy. Have a plan. Work hard. Pray.

Take a lesson from General Patton and courageously love your country, your customers, your teammates, your family, your dog, and the One who makes it all possible.