The turning point for San Antonio businessman Richard Acosta came when he went to his knees. The lone McDonald’s franchise he and his wife, Celia, operated was in trouble. Faced with demanding creditors and bills he couldn’t pay, the Acostas asked for help. “God,” they prayed, “we are going to lose everything.”
The next day, an acquaintance put Richard in touch with a businessman in Chicago. The businessman gave Richard a three-year loan for $300,000. The bills got paid. The creditors disappeared.
“That’s how powerful prayer is,” Richard says. “You pray on a Sunday. You get the answer on a Monday.”
That was more than 35 years ago. Today, Richard owns 15 McDonald’s franchises with nearly 1,400 employees. Annual sales total nearly $40 million.