I went to church this morning and just came from work this evening and have had very little time today to just sit. Since today was not true Sabbath for me, having spent a goodly portion in buying and selling and working for unrighteous mammon, I have selected these prayers for ‘work’ from The Westminster Collection of Christian Prayers. May these prayers carry you into your work week this week:
O Lord, give your blessing, we pray to you, for our work.
All our powers of body and mind are yours,
and we would fain devote them to your service.
So bless our efforts,
that they may bring forth in us
the fruits of true wisdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. ~Thomas Arnold
Lord, in union with your love, unite my work with your great work, and perfect it. As a drop of water poured into a river is taken up into the activity of the river, so may my labor become part of your work. Thus may those among whom I live and work be drawn into your love. ~Gertrude the Great of Helfta
Dates and times;
Appointments to be kept;
Meetings to attend;
Anniversaries to remember;
All tightly scheduled
to fill the day.
The diary tells it all.
It tells of how we use our time,
Of how we fill our hours
And wish we had some more.
Hardly a moment to ourselves;
Almost always under pressure;
Often we drive too fast.
We feel we are caught–
Held imprisoned
In the little pages
Of our life’s day.
Lord,
Set us free within our daily round;
Free us to do our work
Without the sense of burden
Or of constant rush and pressure
To get done.
Set us free to live our life
With Joy and gladness
In the knowledge of your presence
Everywhere we go. ~Robert McN. Samson.
[prayers found on page 372, 373, and 374-5 of the Westminster Collection of Christian Prayer]
thoughts, prayers & songs: 