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Archive for the ‘Workplace Prayer’ Category

Are You Grinding or Grounded at Work?

Posted in Attitude, Faith, Faith and Work, Prayer, Stress, Work, Workplace Prayer, tagged , , , , , on September 27, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Do you feel like your life is so hectic? Overwhelmed at times by all the busyness?  Grinding through your day and feeling on edge about everything? You are not alone!

Are you grinding through your workday? Too busy and always feeling stressed?

Now that summer is a distant memory, life is crazy again. It’s early to rise and late to bed around our house and the pace is non-stop.  I’ve noticed that there are some days where my work seems harder, my attitude is less than stellar and my creativity has gone AWOL for the day.

Why is it that some days I feel like I’m grinding through the day and other days I feel grounded.  Is there anything in particular about my morning routine that explains the difference? Nothing obvious comes to mind. Then I thought about yesterday – it was a good day – yes, I was busy (i.e I’m writing this blog at midnight) but I felt at peace throughout the day. The possible answer? I had a morning conversation with God.

Yesterday I had a little extra time before getting ready for work, so I decided to take a quick morning walk.  While I walk, I have the best conversations with God.  I talk, but I also listen.  When I finish my walk, I have “a peace that transcends all understanding.” Phil 4:7.  And that peace keeps me feeling GROUNDED all day instead of feeling like I’m GRINDING all day.

If you can invest some time, here are a few ideas for your morning prayer time:

  1. Your prayers don’t have to be marathons.  If you don’t have a lot of time, give yourself 10 minutes. If that isn’t possible, then pray while you’re getting ready or driving to work. “Never stop praying” 1 Thes 5:17 (NLT)
  2. Listen to the bible.  I have the YouVersion Bible app on my phone. There is an option to listen to the scriptures being read. You can listen to it while getting ready, exercising or driving.
  3. Get grounded. Paul sums it up perfectly when he said “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation… present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:6-7

Want more suggestions? Check out our website on Workplace Prayer.

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Too Many Priorities?

Posted in Balance, Faith and Work, Leadership, Planning, Prayer, Purpose, Workplace Prayer on April 2, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Many times we rush into a new week after a super hectic weekend with way more on our plate than what we might have remembered being there on Friday.  Most of the time, all that work stuff that we thought we would get done early Saturday morning or maybe Sunday evening gets taken over by all the other priorities of the weekend.  Well, I guess that is often how I feel entering Monday morning.  Is it just me?

As I enter this new week, I find that I have many competing priorities and most of them feel like they need to get done immediately.  There are times when it seems that it all needs to get done, but often times I get lost in trying to make the decision of what to do first.  (Guess I need to read Steven Covey’s “First Things First” again…).   Yes, I know that I need to focus on the most important things and not necessarily just what seems most urgent.  I sometimes however,  need help knowing which is which because that often changes from week to week.

Our Lord is once again waiting and wondering why I don’t just ask Him about it.   He sees the big picture as opposed to our perspective of not even seeing the next step and will most willingly be our guide if we would just submit to his leadership.   Our plans should be His plans, therefore, we are most likely out of step with His will if we don’t seek Him in regards to our priorities.

Hopefully you will take some time today at the beginning of another super busy work week and step back to ask for His direction and for His clarity.  As the day/week progresses this constant seeking of guidance will make a huge difference in how you get it all done this week.  You will most likely look back at the end of the week and see that somehow you accomplished much more than you thought you would AND you will realize where your help came from.

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.  Luke 12:31

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Have You Thought About Praying for Your Work?

Posted in Faith, Faith and Work, Prayer, Relationships, Work, Workplace Prayer on March 5, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Today our team started off the day/week doing something that I know most do not have the opportunity to do.  We begin each week with a staff meeting, but we kick off the staff meeting spending some time in prayer for our work.  It is a rich experience and one that we do not take for granted.  We should probably start more days off with prayer, but at least once a week we take the time to lift up our work in prayer.

When I was employed out in the marketplace more where most of you are, it certainly was not something that was routinely done.  I was fortunate enough however, to work with a couple of Christian bosses along the way that included me in some early morning, before work prayer times.   Every couple of weeks we would get to the office early, before most others arrived, we would close the door to his office or conference room and spend thirty minutes or so together praying for our work.  It was such a blessing and even though things did not always go our way, it just felt good to pray about them.  There is no doubt in my mind that God wired us in such a way that when pray, we are doing one of the things we were designed to do.  That is why it always feels like the right thing to do.

Maybe you could find a few like minded people at work and commit to starting the work week off in prayer.  If not, you can at least be more intentional about praying for your meetings, for the people God will allow to cross your path as well as other work matters.

Let me encourage those who are in positions of leadership to organize opportunities from time to time for your team to pray together.  It can be a tremendous opportunity for growth and blessings for all concerned.

Paul taught us in Ephesians 6:18 to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayer and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always praying.”

“All occasions” sounds to me like it could include those occasions when I am at work!

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