I spent the majority of my life striving to have a regular “quiet time” of devotion and prayer each morning. My pastors regularly encouraged me to set aside time, even if it was only five minutes to start my day in this way. I agree, there is great power in starting our days with Jesus. Beginning my day in prayer sets me on the right track; it focuses my mind and heart on Jesus before any of my day even begins.
However, I have recently noticed a pattern of quieting my mind in prayer in the morning, but then quickly letting the busyness of work take over. As my relationship with Jesus has grown I have discovered that He wants much more from me than those few rushed minutes in the morning.
An essential part of integrating our faith and work is through prayer and making it an important and consistent part of our day. In scripture we are called to pray continuously, it’s a critical part of our walk with Jesus. This means we should all be praying for our work and about our work while we are doing the work.
Here are some simple ways to integrate prayer into each work day:
- Silently pray for God’s wisdom and blessing before entering a meeting.
- When finishing a task or project, ask Him for guidance on what to focus on next.
- Stop and pray when you’re facing stressful situations. This will calm your mind, allowing you a better perspective.
- Saying a quick thank you to the Lord for every small win you have throughout the day.
- Shutting your office door or finding a quiet, secluded place to pray over big decisions, direction on strategy or overall vision for your position.
No matter how seemingly small a circumstance may seem, God wants to be involved in every part of our lives. He’s an active part of our day and longs to be in communion with us. Developing a prayerful life allows us to live the full life God intends for us and keeps our focus on Him throughout our day.
