Day Twenty-Seven What to Pray: For Work, Worship and Sleep: Live a Life Worthy of the Lord And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God… (Colossians 1:10) Work, a mandate The first thing we know about God in the opening verse and chapter of the Bible is that He is a worker.[1] It makes sense, then, that He declares a “Creation Mandate” to His first workers, Adam and Eve[2], appointing them managers of all that He had made. No matter your job, it’s an extension of God’s rule over the world. You’re a coworker with God. [1] Genesis 1 [2] Genesis 1:28-2:3 Worship, the equalizer We know that Sabbath is a word rooted in the idea of “cessation,” so it’s clear that God wants us to pause from our labor. Not just time off, but a dedication of time to worship him as the Creator, in community with others to “stir up love and good works, to exhort one another.”[3] Worship equalizes the strains and pressures of the workday. [3] Hebrews 10:25 Sleep, the energizer The psalmist’s phrase, “He gives his beloved sleep,”[6] can be translated, “He gives to his beloved while he is sleeping.” In other words, your Coworker, who never needs sleep, is working on your behalf while you are resting. Furthermore, many studies conclude that deep sleep, “primes our brains to function at a higher level, letting us come up with better ideas, find solutions to puzzles more quickly, identify patterns faster and recall information more accurately.”[7] Sleep is the great energizer for work and worship. [5] Psalm 129:2 [6] Rethinking Sleep, New York Times, nytimes/2012/09/23/opinion/sunday/rethinking-sleep.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 11:54:33 +0000
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