I want to share a prayer with you. It’s a prayer I recently began praying at the beginning of each workday in an attempt to reorient my mind and heart on the meaning of my work, especially on days when I’m tempted to see it only as a means to an end. It’s a prayer that anyone, regardless of your vocation, can pray. (And I want to emphasize that full-time motherhood counts as a vocation in my book.)
The prayer itself is in bold italics, and the words in between are some of my reflections.
Heavenly Father,
As I begin this day of work, I pray that you would help me to be a faithful steward of the work you’ve given me today.
Whether that work is changing diapers, waiting tables, checking out library books, leading the worship band, answering phones, counseling clients, tutoring students, driving a school bus, serving coffee, writing code, scanning groceries, tattooing skin, designing websites, or any other task we do at a given moment, we are called to display the same faithfulness in our jobs that our God displays in His.
(What does God do for a living? See Isaiah 9:6 for a short list of His titles.)
I pray that you would give me a cheerful heart and a diligent spirit.
Cheerfulness may seem like a tall order when you’re folding your toddler’s clothes for the third time that week or being berated by an entitled customer with an expired coupon. I get it. Even dream jobs have hard days.
But when I remind myself in those moments that the Lord – not my career – is the source of my joy, and that this is the work He’s called me to this day, I feel the slightest shift in my heart. We will not enjoy every aspect of our vocations, but even in the middle of a frustrating workday, our souls can rest in the love of the One who loves us and who lovingly gave us this work to do.
I pray that you would bless the work of my hands and help me to work with my whole heart, as unto you and not unto men. I pray that you would fill me with a spirit of excellence and guard my heart against perfectionism.
This is a big one for me. Even as an elementary school student, I struggled with perfectionism in my work. I cared so much about straight A’s on my report card that I missed the whole point of studying the material I was being tested on, the simple joy of learning about the world God made. This attitude has often carried into my work as an adult. I find myself more concerned with checking off all of the boxes on a to-do list or basking in the praise of my supervisor than I am with paying attention to the work itself and the way it impacts the people I’m serving.
On the other hand, we can also swing too far to the other side of the pendulum, especially during times when we’re feeling particularly unhappy in our jobs. (“This work is meaningless. My employer doesn’t appreciate me. I have more to offer than the other people here. They don’t treat me the way I deserve, so they don’t deserve my best effort.”) Suddenly we find ourselves doing the bare minimum, complacent in our complacency, and this mindset doesn’t glorify the Lord, either.
He wants us to do the best we can with the gifts and talents He’s given us, to trust that there’s a purpose in our work that we might not be able to see now. Remember how Moses spent several years as a nobody herding sheep in the desert before he led God’s people out of slavery and spent forty years herding them through the wilderness? There is always a reason God has you where you are. Even as you seek better opportunities or dream of the day when your children can feed and clothe themselves, you are still gently called to be present this day, this hour, this moment.
Because whatever it is you do, you’re doing it for Him.
I pray that you would guard my heart and mind against the lies of the enemy and fill them with your truth instead.
This goes hand-in-hand with the perfectionism one, but I often find myself paralyzed with doubt over whether I can actually handle the work I’ve been given.
Can I be honest? Every time I sit down to write a blog post like this, I’m terrified. I’m afraid that the words won’t come, that the jig is up, that this is the day my brain will finally decide it’s not going to do what it’s supposed to and will leave me staring at a blinking cursor on a blank page.
I get that same fear when it comes to my job. Whether it’s making a phone call to a customer, designing a flyer, or recording a Reel or TikTok (yes, that’s part of my current job description), I often hear this voice in the back of my mind, whispering things like You can’t do this. You’re an impostor and everyone’s going to figure it out. You won’t do it perfectly, so you shouldn’t even bother trying.
How can such a soft voice be so loud?
Slowly but surely, I’m starting to recognize whose voice this is. It’s not the voice of the people who love me, who will still love me even when I do inevitably fail or mess up, as humans are prone to do. It’s not the voice of my employers or coworkers. It’s certainly not God’s voice.
It might be partially my own voice – or, at least, the voice I’ve adopted over the years of giving into the fear – but mostly, I think this voice belongs to the enemy. The enemy who comes to steal and kill and destroy, who uses shame and fear as his primary weapons to keep the people of God from bringing light and beauty and goodness to the earth.
God’s voice never says You can’t do this. (Unless, of course, it comes to making a sinful choice, in which case I think it sounds more like I love you and I don’t want you to do this because it is not my best for you.)
His voice says I made you for a purpose. I have given you everything you need for the work I’ve called you to do. I will help you. I am with you. I love you.
It says Well done, good and faithful servant.
This is the voice we must listen to when we work.
I pray that you would help me to be a light to my coworkers (or customers, or children, or anyone you interact with) and open up doors for me to share the hope of the gospel with them.
At the end of each workday, no matter who signs our paychecks or how much we’re recognized for our contributions, our most meaningful job as believers is to invite other people into the glorious kingdom of the God we serve. We can do this no matter our title or income level, regardless of whether we ever get the big promotion or earn employee of the month.
When people around us notice a difference in how we work, when they see us treat even the most mundane tasks with diligence and the most frustrating customers with kindness, it will make them wonder why. They’ll want to know why we’re so cheerful, why we pursue excellence when everyone else is just trying to get through the day, why we stay grounded and humble even when those around us are clawing their way towards the top.
It’s because we know who we’re really working for: the World’s Best Boss, the King of the universe who came to the earth He made not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.
To faithfully fulfill His job as our Savior.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Scripture for Further Reflection:
Exodus 31:1–11
Psalm 118:24
1 Corinthians 10:31
Colossians 3:23–24
Ecclesiastes 3:12–13
ABOUT OUR BLOGGER
Kati Lynn Davis grew up in Chester County. After a brief stay on the other side of Pennsylvania to earn a writing degree from the University of Pittsburgh, she returned to the area and got a job working for a local library.
When she isn’t writing, Kati enjoys reading, drawing, watching movies (especially animated ones!), drinking bubble tea, hanging out with her family cat, and going for very slow runs.
Kati is pretty sure she’s an Enneagram 4 but is constantly having an identity crisis over it, so thankfully she’s learning to root her sense of self in Jesus.