Prayer of Work

Labor Day has an interesting history. Some trace its beginnings to the socialist Robert Owen, who claimed May 1, 1833, as the day for the beginning of the millennium. But the first May Day or Labor Day celebration occurred in Paris on May 1, 1889. Most of the countries that observe a labor day do so on May 1. In the Soviet Union it is an official holiday. Canada and the United States have fixed the first Monday in September as Labor Day, and in these countries it is a national holiday in which all classes, not simply workingmen, participate.

—Christianity Today

But work is integral to the holy life and is itself a form of prayer."

https://ref.ly/o/morelight/158872?length=244 via @Logos

prayer, as a response to God

Prayer offers believers a means of acknowledging the character and purposes of God and the opportunity to seek guidance concerning his will for them.

Man, Value of

Prayer of co-operation in response to God’s purposes( See also ; ; )

( See also ; ; )

(NKJV) 7If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

7If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

8By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

(NKJV) 105Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. 106I have sworn and confirmed That I will keep Your righteous judgments.

105Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

106I have sworn and confirmed That I will keep Your righteous judgments.

(NKJV) 16You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

16You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

A man should carry two stones in his pocket. On one should be inscribed, “I am but dust and ashes.” On the other, “For my sake was the world created.” And he should refer to each stone as he needs it.828

Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 231.

(2:15-25) Outline: the purpose of man.

1. Purpose 1: kinship—to be like God (1:26). 2. Purpose 2: dominion and authority—to rule over God's creation (1:28). 3. Purpose 3: worship (2:3).

2. Purpose 2: dominion and authority—to rule over God's creation (1:28).

3. Purpose 3: worship (2:3).

4. Purpose 4: fellowship and enjoyment (2:8; cp. ). 5. Purpose 5: service and work (2:15). 6. Purpose 6: obedience and loyalty (2:16-17).7. Purpose 7: companionship (2:18-25).

5. Purpose 5: service and work (2:15).

6. Purpose 6: obedience and loyalty (2:16-17).

Purpose: service and work (2:15) purpose is to serve God by working and taking care of the Garden—the paradise in which he lives.

God had given Adam the Garden—the most perfect, beautiful, and bountiful paradise imaginable—and God expected Adam to work and keep up the Garden.

1. Man was to look after the Garden. He was to "dress" it, and to "keep" the Garden. ()

7. Purpose 7: companionship (2:18-25).

Dress: The word means to work, till, cultivate, dress, and serve the Garden. Keep: This word means to watch over, to guard, to keep, to look after, to take care of.

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth" ().

2. Man was created to be a responsible person and an active, working person. (, , , , , , )

Man was not made to be irresponsible nor to be inactive, idle, slothful, complacent, or lazy. He was made to work and to work hard.

"Not slothful in business; [but] fervent in spirit; serving the Lord" ()

"Servants [workmen], obey in all things your masters [employers] according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ" ().

"For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat" ().

"And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee" ().

"I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down" ().

"By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through" ().

3. Man was created to have a strong sense of purpose and of self-worth.

Man also needs strong self-image, to feel that he is somebody, a person who matters to other people.

Both purpose and self-image come—to a great degree—from the work that a man does. If a man's work is significant, then he has a reason for getting up in the morning and living,

(Note: mental and emotional needs—purpose and self-worth—are only partially met by the physical world and responsibility within it. The most satisfying sense of purpose and self-worth comes from having one's spiritual needs met. This is discussed in the next note—•.)

The point is this: every person should make sure he is acceptable to God, that he is to be a citizen of the new heavens and earth, of the coming paradise of God. (, , , , )

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" ().

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful" ().

"Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end" ().

"And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree" ().

"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind" ().

"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain" ().

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ" ().

"Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful" ().

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" ().

"As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God" ().

"If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land" ().

Second, there is the responsibility of honest and diligent labor. Because we live to the glory of God

we have the responsibility to render an honest day’s labor. Our labor must not be simply for the acquisition of wealth, but for the glory of God.

(NKJV) 28Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.

28Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.

Therefore, Stealing is wrongfully taking the property of another; theft

(NKJV)15“You shall not steal.

(NKJV)8“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.9You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.

Point,

First Point, there is the right of private property as the fruit of one’s labor.

Second, there is the responsibility of honest and diligent labor. Because we live to the glory of God

we have the responsibility to render an honest day’s labor. Our labor must not be simply for the acquisition of wealth, but for the glory of God.

Conclusion: The Christian’s Garden

Prayer of Work

Scriptural Text: ;

Prayer of Work

Prayer of co-operation in response to God’s purposes( See also ; ; )

1. Purpose 1: kinship—to be like God (1:26). 2. Purpose 2: dominion and authority—to rule over God's creation (1:28). 3. Purpose 3: worship (2:3).

4. Purpose 4: fellowship and enjoyment (2:8; cp. ). 5. Purpose 5: service and work (2:15). 6. Purpose 6: obedience and loyalty (2:16-17).7. Purpose 7: companionship (2:18-25).

Purpose: service and work (2:15) purpose is to serve God by working and taking care of the Garden—the paradise in which he lives.

1. Man was to look after the Garden. He was to "dress" it, and to "keep" the Garden. ()

2. Man was created to be a responsible person and an active, working person. (, , , , , , )

3. Man was created to have a strong sense of purpose and of self-worth.

The point is this: every person should make sure he is acceptable to God, that he is to be a citizen of the new heavens and earth, of the coming paradise of God. (, , , , )

(NKJV) 28Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.

First Point, there is the right of private property as the fruit of one’s labor.

First, plant five rows of peas: Preparedness, Promptness, Perseverance, Politeness, and Prayer.

Next to them plant three rows of squash: Squash Gossip, Squash Criticism, and Squash Indifference.

Then five rows of lettuce: Let us be Faithful, Let us be Unselfish, Let us be Loyal, Let us be Truthful, Let us Love One Another.

And no garden is complete without turnips: Turn up for Church, Turn up with a Smile, Turn up with Determination.