Ablaze for God - Day 25 Devotional

“Your Prayer Controls Your Work”
Submitted by Russell Buck
Key text: Colossians 3:17

There is no task great or small that we are adequately prepared to do until we have very humbly and sincerely prayed over it. Prayer is not a substitute for work, nor an excuse to not get at the task at hand. It is the way to make God a very real part of your work - in fact it is allowing Him, yes, welcoming Him to be the boss on the job. God wants to lead us and show us the most effective way to accomplish the work at hand.

In the last church I served I began the practice of going early to the church on Sunday morning, sitting in the sanctuary and praying for every family of our constituency by name, remembering their special needs. Through prayer God used this practice to help me better minister in His name. This was no substitute for adequate sermon preparation, nor was it a substitute for calls and contacts and all of the rest that is part of pastoral ministry.

No matter what our work, secular or religious, God stands ready to assist and direct. He completely understands every one of us and the work that is a daily part of our lives and our responsibility.

As you seek Him, He will guide you to become more productive and effective on the job, and in time you will learn the discipline of practicing His presence as you go about your daily tasks. He will guide us so that we will not become a workaholic nor a slacker, but a very efficient and effective servant of His.

Col. 3:17 gives us good direction here, “and whatsoever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the father through Him."