Prayer in Work

Contemplation and reflection through prayer are important aspects of incarnational living and leading in Homewood. By this I mean that when I am involved in "actions," I am doing my best to remain in a mindset of prayer in order to connect with Jesus. This does not mean that I go into some kind of spiritual trance, or that when I'm interacting with people I suddenly drop to my knees, fold my hands, and close my eyes. I just try to go through the work involved in my days with a mindset of being close to God in the midst of the complexities of urban ministry.

For instance, almost every time I drive through Homewood I pray for different people and places that I see. When kids are in my living room, I am praying for them and I am praying that God would work through me. When I'm on the streets trying to deescalate tense situations, I am definitely praying. When I'm having conversations with single moms who are overwhelmed by the day to day struggles of life, I am praying as much as I can. Whenever I interact with a drug addict or a prostitute or a homeless person, I always pray for them while I'm talking to them (and I sometimes ask if I can pray with them). I love to pray with people who are hurting in the midst of broken-down places that most people try to stay away from. To me, places of extreme brokenness represent holy ground. The Holy Spirit works in those vulnerable places with vulnerable people.

The great thing about prayer is that everyone can practice integrating prayer with their work no matter where they live or where they work. Here's Mother Theresa's take on the subject: We must join our prayer with work. We try to bring this across to our sisters by inviting them to make their work a prayer. How is it possible to change one's work into a prayer? Work cannot substitute for prayer. Nevertheless, we can learn to make work a prayer. How can we do this? By doing our work with Jesus and for Jesus. That is the way to make our work a prayer. It is possible that I may not be able to keep my attention fully on God while I work, but God doesn't demand that I do so. Yet I can fully desire and intend that my work be done with Jesus and for Jesus. This is beautiful and that is what God wants. He wants our will and our desire to be for him, for our family, for our children, for our brethren, and for the poor.