Pray This When You're Dreading Work Today

Good morning. This is Morning Prayer from Bearing Fruit.

“Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, as for the Lord and not for men”. Paul first wrote those words to people who had almost no say over their work. If you're dreading the work in front of you this Monday, we'll hear what he told them. Let's bring this to God together.

In Colossians chapter three, verses twenty-three and twenty-four, Paul writes this.

Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, as for the Lord and not for men, because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Colossians 3:23-24

Paul wrote this to slaves in the church at Colossae. The world of the New Testament was full of them. Many worked long hours for masters who could be harsh, with no way to leave. A few lines later, Paul tells the masters to treat their slaves rightly and fairly, because they have a Master in heaven too. Here, though, he speaks to the workers themselves. He gives them something no master could take away. Their work could be done for Christ.

“It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Every floor they scrubbed and every account they kept could be offered to Him. He saw all of it. And they'd receive an inheritance from Him, when most of them had nothing to leave anyone.

Many of us start this week dreading something at work. One of you sees a manager's name on the screen, and your stomach drops. Someone else will spend the day on their feet, stacking the same shelves they stacked on Friday. Or your work is at home with small children, and nobody pays you or thanks you for any of it.

Work wasn't a punishment to begin with. Before anything went wrong in the world, God gave the first man work to do.

Then the Lord God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.

Genesis 2:15

The thorns and the sweat came later, after sin came in. So the dread you feel is real, and the brokenness of the world is part of it. Work itself can still be good, and it can still be done for God.

Working as for the Lord doesn't mean pretending you love your job. It doesn't mean putting up with wrong in silence either. If something at work is unsafe or unjust, you can speak up and look for help. Working for Him means bringing Him into the day, and doing the next task as if He's the one you're handing it to. Because He is.

Paul ends his long chapter on the resurrection with a word about work.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:58

He's thinking first of serving the Lord, and the reason he gives is the resurrection. Jesus died for our sins and was raised. So what's done for Him isn't wasted, even when no one else notices it.

And you don't work this week to earn God's love. Jesus said He came to serve, and to give His life for many. The inheritance Paul talks about is a gift from Someone who served us first. You can do today's work knowing His love is already yours.

Let's pray. You can pray these words with me, out loud or in your heart.

Father, before the work starts, I come to You through Jesus. He came to serve, and He gave His life for my sins. You raised Him from the dead, and He's Lord over every place I'll be today. By Your Spirit, I can bring Him into all of it.

You made the world, and You gave people work to do in it. You worked, and then You rested. Nothing I do this week is too small for You to notice. You see the work no one else sees, and You don't forget it.

I'm dreading today, Father. You know which part. The inbox, or the person, or the pile that never gets smaller. It's only Monday, and I'm already counting the hours till Friday. I've done some of my work just to be seen, and some of it half-heartedly because nobody was checking. I've complained about the people I work with more than I've prayed for them. Some days I've let my work be the measure of me. When it goes well I feel worth something, and when it goes badly I feel like nothing. Forgive me. Thank You that I'm Your child before I've done a single thing today.

Give me strength for the first hour. Help me do this work with my whole heart, as for You. When I'm tempted to cut corners, remind me that You see. When someone's hard to work with, give me patience, and help me be fair to them. If something's wrong at work, give me courage to say so, and wisdom about how. Let me notice the people my work is for, even the ones I'll never meet, and do it for their good. And if it's time to look for different work, show me, and open the way.

Your word says, “It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Let me remember that, Father. I may not get thanked today. My manager may not notice. You will. My inheritance is with You, and nobody can take it from me. So I'm leaving the results with You, the targets and the reviews and what people think of me. Even if this job never gets easier, I'm still working for You, and You're a good Master.

I pray for the people I'll work alongside today. For the colleague who's struggling and hiding it well. For anyone who's lost their job and is dreading another day of searching. For anyone whose work is unsafe or unfair, and who can't easily leave. Protect them, Father. Give them good work to do, and people who treat them well.

Father, here I go into this week's work. Go with me through the door. When I sit down to the first task, let me do it for You. When the dread comes back, at the first email or the first hard meeting, remind me who I'm really working for. Help me do good work, and be kind while I'm doing it. Let me stop when the day is done, and leave what's unfinished with You. I'll pray the words Moses prayed. “May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish for us the work of our hands—yes, establish the work of our hands!”

In Jesus' name, amen.

Take a moment of quiet now, and bring Him whatever's in front of you today.

Hear this blessing from the end of the letter to the Hebrews.

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 13:20-21