WORKMATTERS PRAYER GUIDE Week of April 27, 2020

Use this prayer guide at the start of each day or as a way to pray with intentionality throughout the day. You can incorporate it into your quiet time routine or devotional rhythm—or use it to develop a new prayer habit—and share it with others as a way to stand together in prayer. Feel free to write down your prayers in each section or make a note of any promptings or thoughts that the Holy Spirit may lay on your heart and where you might be able to take action.

Alone, Not Isolated “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” – Hebrews 10:24–25

Alone time can be a healthy thing. We need to give ourselves the freedom to do things we enjoy. This can have redemptive value. Taking time for ourselves helps us recharge so we can be at our best, whether on video calls for work or reteaching ourselves algebra for an impromptu season of homeschooling. But there is a difference between alone time that recharges us and alone time that results in isolation.

The ways we deal with being alone, and how we feel it, are as unique as we are. If we’re not careful, it is all too easy to fall into escapism or go into fight mode. Binging a seven-hour docuseries on Netflix in one sitting or fact-checking Facebook friends does not add value to the lives of others. Christ calls us to look beyond ourselves and serve others, to step out of the fight-or-flight response to crisis.

How can we reach out and be there for those who are isolated because they have no one to turn to right now? The writer of Hebrews encourages us to continue to “show up,” to not give up on encouraging one another. Share positive news and make encouraging comments when you’re on social media. Ask a coworker to share a coffee with you after a video meeting. Invite a single coworker to play cards (playingcards.io) or watch a movie together (netflixparty.com) with you and your and family. Find ways to share screen time together. It will encourage others more than you may know.

WEEKLY PRAYER: Each day this week, pray for the following: Pray for those who are alone and feeling the pain of isolation, that God will comfort them and remind them that he is close. Pray for those in broken and struggling relationships, that the strain is not more than they can bear and that God might bring restoration. Seek the Holy Spirit this week and ask for opportunities to reach out to those who may not be on your radar. Pray that you are open to his prompting.

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Download the latest copy or sign up to receive the Workmatters Weekly Prayer Guide by email at workmatters.org/prayer. DAILY PRAYER: Pray for today’s sphere of focus.

MONDAY: Business, Science, and Technology Pray for business leaders making difficult decisions and the impact that it has on employees and their families, pray for hope and peace amid financial uncertainty, and pray for God to sustain the hearts and quicken the minds of people in technology, innovation, and medical science.

TUESDAY: Arts, Entertainment, and Sports Pray that God would reveal himself through all that is created, that people find community in shared interests and activities, and that we may adapt to this unique time where we must enjoy these things apart from one another.

WEDNESDAY: Government Pray for leaders in government around the world, for unity within our own country and a willingness to help and be helped by the creativity and expertise of the global community, and pray that God is honored in word and deed.

THURSDAY: Media Pray that God nurtures a humble desire to seek truth and wholeness across all forms of media, that journalists do not grow weary in keeping the public informed, and that those with a following, even a small following, on social media put others first and refrain from divisive discourse.

FRIDAY: Education Pray for students, teachers, and professors, for those who work at or attend colleges and universities, for school bus drivers, custodians, and school cafeteria workers. Pray for low-income students and the school officials working to keep them healthy and fed.

SATURDAY: Family Pray for members of your family, for those who need a miracle and those who’ve wandered or do not know Christ. Pray for families in our country and around the world, that they draw close to one another, and for those whose family is distant, that they find comfort in the family of God.

SUNDAY: Church, Christian Service, and Nonprofit Pray that although many are not able to worship together at this time, we find community and belonging and new, creative ways to be invitational to those outside the Church. Pray for the sustainment of those in nonprofit and service to others, as they provide hope and help to so many.

Download the latest copy or sign up to receive the Workmatters Weekly Prayer Guide by email at workmatters.org/prayer.