PRAYER AT WORK

Today's Prayer
Dear Father, Thank you for the comfort You provide through Your Holy Spirit, through my brothers and sisters in Christ, and through dear friends. I pray that You will help me to carefully and mindfully show grace and love to those who are hurting. Please give me insight and wisdom for ministering to people who have serious illness and who live day to day with the affects of incurable disease; to people who have addictions that I may not understand or identify with...or to those who have issues with which I can identify; to people who are grieving over the loss of a loved one, a pet, a job, a home; to people who are struggling to overcome and live with life-altering disabilities. Thank you for the health You have given me and for all the many blessings You have bestowed upon me. In Jesus' name I come before You and pray. Amen.

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Prayer at Work
"Epaphras, who Paul states to the Colossians 'is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus. . . . He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured'" (Colossians 4:12).

Many of us have been entrenched in the "secular versus sacred" model for so long that it can be difficult for us to view our work as a ministry and workplace believers as missionaries in the 9 to 5 Window. However, God tells us clearly that we are to glorify God in all that we do (see Col. 3:17, 24). Having people pray for us to fulfill our purpose and calling in our workplaces is consistent with the will of God for every individual.

While the idea of a workplace intercessor may be a new concept for us, we need to remember the examples we find in the New Testament of believers praying for one another such as Epaphras in the scripture above.

Colin Ferreira is a friend, a board member for our ministry, and an owner of an optical business in Trinidad. I first met Colin in 2001 when he invited me to speak at a Caribbean workplace conference that he was organizing. I have watched Colin develop into a Kingdom business leader.

Through a series of struggles common to most businesses, Colin began to recognize the need for more prayer coverage. One of the organizations for which he had been supplying financial and leadership support maintained a prayer ministry. Colin asked the minister who headed the organization to intercede for him and his company on an ongoing basis, and she gladly agreed.

The two met periodically to discuss prayer needs and critical issues developing within the organization, which the minister then addressed discreetly in her intercessory group meetings. Often, this woman would recognize specific problems during these prayer meetings and know how to pray for them effectively.

Is prayer a regular part of your time with God? Are you in relationship with others who are praying for you?

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