Power of a Praying Woman 10/17/06 9:02 AM Page 113
Lord, Bless Me…
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clothing store?). She is a woman of strength, energy, and vision who works hard into the night and knows that what she has to offer is good. God wants us to experience that kind of success and satisfaction. But it doesn’t happen without prayer. Prayer helps us to ?nd the balance between being “greedy for gain,” which depletes our life (Proverbs 1:19), and having “a slack hand,” which makes us poor (Proverbs 10:4). Prayer helps us to not “overwork to be rich” (Proverbs 23:4-5) yet still be diligent in our work, which may ultimately bring us monetary rewards (Proverbs 10:4). Prayer helps us ?nd the balance between laziness and obsession, between gaining the whole world and losing our own soul (Matthew 16:26). The Bible says that “the laborer is worthy of his wages” (1 Timothy 5:18). This means you deserve to be paid or rewarded for your work. Sometimes the reward is in the actual doing of it itself. You don’t get paid for maintaining a home, serving soup at the rescue mission, or teaching a child to tie his shoes, but your reward for seeing the result of your labor is priceless. “The labor of the righteous leads to life” (Proverbs 10:16). If you have a paying job, don’t hesitate to pray that you will be compensated fairly and generously. Pray for your employer to be blessed in his business so he in turn can afford to pay all employees well. Pray that your work is recognized and appreciated by others. Pray to receive promotions and advancement in line with God’s will. Say, “Lord, I would like to have that promotion and that raise if it’s Your will for my life.” As you pray that way and commit your work to the Lord, He will bless it. No matter what your paycheck re?ects, your work is important to God, it’s important to others, and it’s important