Morning Devotions with Chaplain Kenny - Prayer

Prayer

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

~ James 5:16 (NIV)

Prayer can significantly impact the work that we do and the way we see it. Yet in our day-to-day prayers, we often exclude the needs we encounter at work. For whatever reasons, our work and workplaces do not enter our minds as we pray. As a result, we may not experience the fullness of what God wants for us when we’re at work. When we start praying for our work, we recognize that God is active in all we do, not just our “personal” or “spiritual” lives. And this is transformative. Yet prayer doesn’t change God’s heart toward our work as much as it changes ours. And when we begin to see our work the way God sees it, we experience the power of prayer and of God’s grace.

One of the prayers we see most often in the Bible—especially in Paul’s letters—is for God’s people to be empowered. While we all are tempted from time to time to pursue power for the wrong reasons, the right kind of power is still a good thing.

Paul wanted people to see Christ more clearly, and he knew that God’s power would accomplish that. The gospel is the power to change people (see Romans 1:16), and when people see Christ more clearly, they are empowered to live and act as God intended.

God’s transformative and creative power is upon us, and can significantly inform our work and the way we live our lives. When we start praying for our work, we recognize that God is active in all we do, not just our “personal” or “spiritual” lives.

For various reasons, it is easy to forget to pray about the ups and downs of our work. We may focus on praying for family and friends, or on our own personal growth or needs. But we neglect the issues that arise from or at work. Yet God wants to open our eyes to see how he is able to do more than we can ask or imagine (see Ephesians 3:20) in every sphere of life. His power changes not only the way we see, but also how we pray. He wants us to express our thanks to him for the work that we do, as well as petition him about every concern we have. And he wants us to realize that prayer can change even our circumstances at work.

Father, may everything we do begin with your inspiration, and continue with your saving help. Let our work always find its origin in you, and through you reach completion. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

In Jesus,
Chaplain Kenny

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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Taken from NIV Faith & Work Bible.
In our day-to-day prayers, we often exclude the needs we encounter.