Prayer in the Workplace

Okay, here is how the story goes. Since I was young prayer has been a very important part of my life. I guess somewhere along the line it was taught to me and for whatever reason I find great value in prayer and also find it very easy to pray. Amber used to (and still does) joke about when we were first dating I used to pray for forty five minutes at a clip. Now I wonder where the time goes, wishing to find forty five minutes in one sitting to pray. I'm sure if you were to ask people who were involved at MCCC they may remember my emphasis on prayer (but who knows). At MCCC I grew to a place in which I was able to carve out throughout my day three times for prayer;once in the morning, once midday and then in the afternoon or evening. These habits have been very influential in my spiritual, psychological and emotional life.

Now is where the story gets a little more interesting. I am currently working at a company that is owned and operated by a Christian family. I am not ignorant enough (at this point) to assume that everyone working there is a Christian though.

A few months ago, shortly after I was moved over to the Outbound Department the Manager mentioned that the shift I was helping with had begun each day with prayer and the supervisors had gotten out of the habit for various reasons. Since that day I have made it an intentional part of my day to begin with prayer. Interestingly, this has become one of the highlights for most of the employees.

Many people have come and gone since I have been working in Outbound. Many of those on their last day have shared with me, "Matt, this is my last day...please don't stop praying before shift, that was the best part of my day..." or something to that affect. Just the other night I had someone stop before I began praying to tell me how much he appreciated the time of prayer before shift.

Usually the prayer is something quite simple; thanking God for a job, the crew I work with as well as asking for His wisdom as we talk to customers, solve problems and also to help us to honor Him, our employer and our client. These seem to be staples in my shift prayer.

Truly, I am grateful that I am able to begin my shift with prayer. But more importantly I am thankful for the accountability it brings to my life in the workplace. There is no doubt that people know where I stand. Now, I ask that you pray for me, that my character will speak louder than my words. My heart's desire is to see people draw closer to Him through my everyday life not just words froma pulpit.