Workday Prayers: Sharing Your Faith at Work
Scripture Reading: Psalm 71:15-16 (NRSV)
My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all day long,
though their number is past my knowledge.
I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD,
I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.
Focus
Our workplace is, for many of us, the place where we interact most often with people who are not Christians. Thus, we have an exceptional opportunity to share our faith with our colleagues. Yet, we recognize that this needs to be done wisely and winsomely. We need to be respectful of the rules of our workplaces as well as the convictions of our co-workers. We don’t want to be one of those Christians who turn people off through their insensitivity and lack of humility. At the same time, we want to find right ways to share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know him. And we want to live in such a way that our colleagues will see Christ in us.
Prayer
Gracious God, this psalm encourages me to “tell of your righteous acts,” to speak of your “deeds of salvation all day long.” Yet most of my days are at work, when I am paid to do things other than talk about you. I need to be faithful in the work I do, glorifying you in the way I work. So I can’t actually talk about you all day.
Plus, Lord, I want to be a true friend and colleague at work, not the preachy sort of Christian who turns people off through my insensitivity. So I need your wisdom and guidance, Lord. Help me to see when it is right and good to speak of you at work. Show me how to do this with respect and sensitivity.
I pray today for my co-workers, especially for those who do not know you. Please draw them to yourself. Let them come to experience your love and grace. Use me in this work, Lord, as is appropriate. You know what’s best. So, may I be attentive to your Spirit as well as kind and respectful to all of my colleagues.
All praise be to you, Lord God, for your mighty deeds and for your unique righteousness. Amen.
Ponder Throughout the Day
Let the Spirit of God show you how best to share your faith at work.
For Further Reflection
You may wish to read all of Psalm 71:1-24.
You may find helpful a couple of resources having to do with sharing your faith at work. The first is from the podcast, Making It Work, which is a joint venture of the De Pree Center and Theology of Work. Co-hosts, Leah Archibald and I had a fascinating interview with Sue Warnke, an executive at Salesforce in San Francisco. The topic was “Sharing Your Faith at Work Without Fear.”
The second resource is a fine article from the Theology of Work website called: “Evangelism: Sharing the Gospel at Work.” In this article, my colleagues Bill Peel, Leah Archibald, and Randy Kilgore offer lots of wise counsel about how to share your faith respectfully and winsomely. Their article begins: “The suggestion that every Christian is called to share the gospel is unsettling to most Christians, since most of us don’t feel gifted as evangelists. Although it is thrilling to be part of someone’s journey to faith, broaching a spiritual conversation with colleagues at work can arouse no small amount of angst.” Can you relate? But they continue, “What if we understood that being part of someone’s journey to faith in Jesus could begin with something as simple as having a cup of coffee with a colleague, encouraging someone who has had a rough week at work, or offering a helping hand to a boss or coworker under stress?” Good stuff here!
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Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the High Calling archive, hosted by the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Hope and Praise
Mark D. Roberts
Senior Strategist
Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a Senior Strategist for Fuller’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, where he focuses on the spiritual development and thriving of leaders. He is the principal writer of the daily devotional, Life for Leaders,...