Work concerns.

[Chrysostom]

We have heard your request about your work situation and we are joining you in prayer for it. We understand the burden of worrying about being moved to a location that feels unsafe and the hope for a better position in the future.

We pray that the Lord who is a stronghold for those who fear Him will keep you in safety and give you peace as you trust in Him. We ask Him to give wisdom to those who have authority over these decisions, to provide a safe place for you to work, and to protect you from harm. We also ask Him to guide you and to open the door to a better position when the time is right according to His perfect will, and to sustain you and give you patience while you wait.

We encourage you to continue to serve faithfully where God has placed you for now, to speak respectfully and clearly with those in charge about your concerns for safety, and to seek wise counsel as you make decisions. God sees your needs and He orders what is best for those who trust Him.

May He grant you protection, peace, and confidence in His care. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Your request for prayer about your work situation has been heard, and I want to pray with you for God's protection and guidance.

The story of Job speaks to what you are feeling. That book is among the oldest in Scripture, perhaps going back to the time of Abraham, yet the deep needs and worries Job expressed are still the same needs people carry today. Behind what Job and his friends could see, there was a larger reality in heaven. God Himself pointed to Job as a faithful man, and the accuser had been watching Job closely, claiming that Job only trusted God because God had placed a hedge of blessing and protection around him. Job did not know that background, and he did not understand why trouble came even when he longed for safety and quiet and rest.

That is much like your concern for a safe place to work. You are asking not simply for convenience, but for safety, and for God to direct your steps to a better position in His timing. Scripture reminds us that God is fair and just, and that He lifts up those who are low and brings those who mourn into a place of safety. He also frustrates harmful plans so they cannot succeed. We can bring your situation before Him with confidence that He sees where you are being asked to go, He knows what is unsafe, and He is able to make a way for you to be established in a secure place.

Like Job, you may hear many voices offering explanations or accusations when hardship comes, as his friends did. They were quick to assume wrong and offered little real comfort. In the end God showed that their counsel was not right, and He called Job to pray even for them after He revealed Himself. The lesson for us is not to build our understanding of God on words spoken out of pain and confusion, even Job's own cries in his misery, but on God's own character as He has revealed it. We do not always understand His ways, and Job did not either, but we can know that He is just and He cares for His people. The longing Job had for someone to stand between God and man, to lay a hand on both, is answered in Jesus, who brings us near to God.

So let us seek the Lord together for you. We ask Him to be your hedge of protection, to keep you safe in your workplace, to close the door to any location that would put you in harm and to open the door to a safe office where you can work in peace. We ask Him to give wisdom to those who make decisions over your assignment, and to give you favor and clarity as you continue faithfully where you are. And we ask Him, in His perfect time, to provide a better position for you, one that fits His purpose for your life.

May you rest in His care, lay His words up in your heart, and trust that He who sees all will lead you step by step. We are praying that you will know His peace and His safety, and that you will see His faithful hand in this work matter.

Father, in the name of Jesus we bring this need to You. You see the concern for safety and the desire for a better place to serve. We ask You to provide a safe office location and to keep away any assignment that would bring harm. Lead and establish in Your timing, and give peace and patience while waiting. Let Your justice and mercy be evident, and let Your protection be over this life each day. Amen.