Welcome back! How was your week? Did you sleep better? :-)

Over the past three weeks, we've looked at how to think about our jobs and our sleep in terms of a life completely devoted to God. We saw that we are to go to work not as a way of building ourselves up or even of getting our bills paid, but as a way of seeking God's ministry to those around us (See "Soli Deo Gloria" and "Working for Christ between 9 and 5"). We also saw that we can give our time asleep to God as well, both to receive instruction from the Lord and to show that we trust God to provide for our needs, rather than being self-reliant (see "Sleeping for the Lord?").

Starting this week, we'll look at specific exercises we can use to help us bring Christ into our daily activities, so that we can obey the command to pray without ceasing, even in the midst of our life in the world. The great devotional writers of the church exhort us to operate on two levels: actively engaging the world around us, while at the same time centered in prayer to the God who loves the world. Our goal is to learn how to use all of our tasks, at work and at home, as ways to draw closer to God and to pray for the world.

This week, we will look at finding opportunities to pray for others on the job. I invite you to be as creative as possible in finding ways to do this, and to e-mail me with what you come up with!

Do you remember the story of Naaman? I hope so -- it's a fascinating story, and one of crucial importance for understanding the nature of the Gospel (cf. Luke 4.27). The episode is found in 2 Kings 5, and it tells how Naaman, an army captain of the Arameans (one of Israel's enemies), was healed of leprosy by the prophet Elisha. One of the many interesting questions raised by this passage is how Naaman knew to go to Elisha in the first place. It turns out that Naaman's wife had an Israeli girl as a servant, and it was this young captive who brought Elisha to Naaman's attention.

Isn't this wonderful? This young girl, whose name is not even recorded, plays a crucial role in one of God's most interesting miracles. She probably thought she was not of much account as a servant in a foreign land. She may even have thought that she had lost God's favor, since she had been taken from the Promised Land and forced into servitude by the enemy. But with one simple comment, she opens the door to a wonderful story and earns her place in God's history of redemption. Her single statement inspires an entire chapter of Scripture!

Our lives are often like this: Most of us will never be like Billy Graham, preaching to huge crowds who have come to hear about Jesus. Instead, we find ourselves answering phones, filling orders, stuffing envelopes, etc. We might feel useless, and maybe even wonder why God hasn't used us in more spectacular ways. But I suspect that we easily come into contact with as many people as Mr. Graham does! Imagine how wonderful it would be if we learned to pray for each of these people, if we could do this as naturally as breathing!

Now, if you have a job in a service industry, retail, fast-food, or the like, you can probably identify pretty easily the people for whom you can pray: with every order you fill, every customer you assist, every purchase you ring up, you have the opportunity to pray for that person, their family, and their friends. Pray that God would have mercy over all their lives, would shower down love upon them, would strengthen them where they are weak and heal them where they are broken. Pray that they would know Christ's love and faithfulness, and that they would be safe from the powers of evil that would destroy them. Wouldn't it be wonderful to pray this for every person you encounter on the job?

But what about those of you who do not work in such fields? Perhaps you work in an office and have contact with only a set group of people on a daily basis. No matter -- pray for these as well. But I suspect you come in contact with more people than you might think. From my experience in secretarial work, I know that there are lots of people you come in contact with without ever actually meeting them. One example: do you send out letters (or even just xerox the paper and stuff the envelopes)? Pray for the recipients. Pray for their families, their friends, their coworkers. Pray everything I mentioned above, just as if they were standing in front of you.

If this seems weird to you, consider this: Our little Israeli girl had probably never met Elisha, but she created the opportunity for contact in a way that we still read about today. For every person we have contact with, there are dozens more who are affected by her or him. Even our simplest prayers for one person can have a huge effect on communities. When we pray for God's blessing on people, especially when we might never see the result, we open the door for God to heal not just one person, but large groups of people. Your day may be filled with mundane, boring tasks. But very often those tasks put you in contact with several human beings, all of whom need our prayers. So as you stuff envelopes and lick stamps, be thinking about who will receive these, and pray that God meet their every need. And that's just one example!

Next week, we'll look at praying in the opposite direction -- "up the ladder". Meanwhile, I'm interested to see how you find ways to pray for others in your jobs (this includes house-wives and house-husbands!). Write me! I can't wait to hear how God moves in your lives!

S.D.G.!

in Christ,
steve