Pray without ceasing.
– 1 Thessalonians 5:17, KJV
Today I received a newsletter from Focus on the Family with a link to an article on how to pray every day. I thought it was a good article and wanted to share it. The idea is that you set up a prayer schedule and have something specific to pray for each day. Below is a summary of the prayer schedule that they have posted on their website. You can read the entire article on their website for detailed descriptions of each day.
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Guidance | Your Family | Your Church | Your Community | Your Nation | Your World | Helpless, Hopeless, Hurting and Lost |
I started to thinking about how to incorporate a prayer schedule into my work life as well and came up with a business prayer schedule based on their post. I like keeping my work life and personal life separate and have set working hours, use different cell phones, different emails, and do my best to keep the office at the office. I’m not going to pray to different God’s (one at work one at home) and this business prayer schedule helps to keep my personal and work life separate while at the same time including God in my business decisions.
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guidance with Job Duties | Employees / Co-Workers | The Company | Local Economy | National Economy | Global Economy | Unemployed, Underemployed, Exploited and Disadvantaged. |
In the middle of the week most of the prayer’s are for the economy, local, national, and global. My suggestion is not to pray for increased revenue on those days but rather to pray for a sustainable economy so that everyone has enough and for a reduction of poverty locally, nationally, and globally on each of those days. Other things to pray for one those days are for passing of any pending legislation that works towards that end and for reduction of corruption and environmental destruction by businesses. My suggestion is essentially to pray for a more Godly business community on each of those days.
If you are wondering how to incorporate this into your busy life, you can pray using your personal prayer schedule in the morning, before getting ready to start your day and you can take 5 minutes to for your business prayer schedule when you get to work. I’ve read different articles about incorporating God into your work life and some people do it in their car, others take a few minutes at their desk, and some people arrive at work early and have a prayer circle with their co-workers. Federal law requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to practice your religion. You can not get fired for arriving early to hold a prayer meeting, for praying during your mandatory paid breaks, or praying during lunch time.
Another idea is to pray in the evening before leaving work and again when you get home. If you pray both in the morning and evening for asking God for help in your personal and business life, it shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes a day total.
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
– Matthew 6:7-8, KJV
All of Matthew chapter 6 gives guidance on how to pray, if you decide to go with the prayer circle you may want to do it where you are not out in the open for all to see or you may want to meet at a coffee-house or breakfast café away from your office. If you have a private office you can close your door but not everyone may have that option.