A Prayer to Find Satisfaction in Our Labor - Your Daily Prayer - September 1

A Prayer to Find Satisfaction in Our Labor
By Lynette Kittle

Bible Reading:
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” -Genesis 2:15

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Monday morning blues, many hard-working individuals face it week after week, faithfully going to work to provide for their families. To some, it’s a joy, but for many, it’s a chore, a way to the financial means they need to get by in life. Whether we enjoy working or not, God is the one who created it at the very beginning of the earth. Work was established before the Fall of man, so we don’t really know what that feels like, to work without the effects of a sinful, fallen world on it. Despite sin’s effects, there can still be a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment that comes through it because God initiated it, and everything He has set up for us is beneficial to us in multiple ways. Ecclesiastes 5:12 reminds us, too, that the sleep of a laborer is sweet.

For Those Who Hate Their Jobs
Still, we might wonder about jobs that are less than glamorous, chores we dread and hate, where the work seems mundane, unimportant, and so on, asking what’s so great about work? Some work does seem to leave us feeling less than satisfied, so in these situations, how do we find the satisfaction God purposed work to give in our lives? The following are six ways to find satisfaction in our work.

1. Resist complaining about our work. Rather than carrying around a bad attitude about our work, Philippians 2:14 encourages: “Do everything without grumbling or arguing.”

2. Look to God, not bosses and co-workers, for approval. Supervisors, fellow employees, they are all working through their own issues, so encouragement and praise at work is often few and far between. So, instead of looking to people to encourage us, Colossians 3:23 urges, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”

3. Consider your work as serving God, not people. Countless individuals dread going to their jobs each day, working just for the pay, not enjoying or looking forward to it, and finding no real satisfaction, joy, or accomplishment in doing it. Yet, God wants us to work like we’re working for Him, rather than men. As Ephesians 6:7 urges, “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people.”

4. Work to bring praise to God, not ourselves. It’s easy to lose sight of why God put us on earth. He has put us here to praise Him and bring glory to Him, not ourselves. So, “If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:11).

5. See work as faithfulness to God. 1 Samuel 12:24 urges, “But be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.” Aim to glorify God in our work, as 1 Corinthians 10:31 urges, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

6. Seek to please God rather than men and women. When tempted to please people over God, the Apostle Paul explains in Galatians 1:10, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Let’s Pray:

Dear Father,
Help us to be grateful to You for the opportunity to work. Open our eyes to see that You created it in the very beginning, with a purpose to benefit us that only comes through working, even at the most seemingly insignificant jobs. Let our minds be set on serving You in our work, so that we might glorify You over ourselves. Focus us on looking to You for approval, rather than trying to gain the praise and rewards of men and women. Guard our hearts and minds from getting puffed up with pride over our accomplishments. Strengthen us to be faithful workers, so that we please You and bring honor to Your name. As 2 Timothy 2:15 encourages, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Sam Edwards

Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.

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