Don't Leave God Out of the Little Boxes

Reflection

For some unknown reason, I have always had a tendency to separate my work from my spiritual life. It isn't that I didn't pray about the day or even about the people I would encounter, but when it came to the actual labor, the tasks, or the goals I was trying to accomplish, my prayers were often very little. It was almost as if I had separated my life into little boxes. If I had a task, I simply needed to do it to the best of my ability. If I had an ache or pain, I would pray about that because it seemed more like something that needed prayer. But the ordinary responsibilities of life? Those were mine to handle.

We don't have to divide our lives into neat little boxes where some things belong to God and other things belong entirely to us.

Then I read the prayer of Abraham's servant, and I began to think differently about that. Abraham had sent his servant on an enormous assignment. He was to travel to Abraham's relatives and find a wife for Isaac. Think about that for a moment. He was being sent to find a wife for a man that the woman had never even met, and the servant didn't know who she would be either. He couldn't show her a picture and say, "This is the man you're going to marry." He had to go and find the right woman, and then somehow convince her family that she should return with him to marry his master's son. That is almost like trying to sell a product to someone without even being able to show them the picture.

Yet the servant didn't approach this task as though it were completely separate from God. When he arrived at the well, he prayed. He brought the assignment his master had given him before the Lord and asked God to prosper his way. I love that because the servant had a job to do, and he still had to travel, speak to people, observe what was happening around him, and make decisions. Prayer didn't mean that he stopped working or expected God to do the task for him. Instead, he recognized that even though he had a responsibility to fulfill, the outcome was ultimately in God's hands.

And perhaps that is something we can easily forget. We pray about the things that seem obviously spiritual. We pray when someone is sick. We pray when we're hurting. We pray when we are facing a major decision or a serious problem. We bring the things that seem important enough to require God's attention before Him, but sometimes we leave the ordinary things in another box. Our work goes in one box, our responsibilities go in another, our plans go somewhere else, and our spiritual life gets its own little box.

Consciously Depending Upon God

But Scripture doesn't really give us that option. Paul wrote to the Romans about praying that he might have a prosperous journey to come to them according to the will of God. He had a desire to travel to Rome, and he brought that desire before God. His journey was not separate from his faith, and his plans were something he could place before the Lord and ask Him to direct. That makes me wonder how many things I have simply decided were too ordinary to pray about.

Maybe I have a project that needs to be completed. Maybe I have a difficult conversation ahead of me. Maybe I have an important meeting, a task at work, a goal I am trying to accomplish, or simply a long list of responsibilities that need to be handled. How often do I automatically think, I'll just take care of it, without ever stopping to ask God to guide me through it? There is nothing wrong with doing our work diligently. Scripture actually encourages us to work heartily, as unto the Lord, but there is a difference between doing something in our own strength and doing it while consciously depending upon God.

Prayer doesn't replace our work, and it doesn't mean that we stop using the abilities, wisdom, and opportunities God has given us. Instead, prayer reminds us that even while we are working, we are dependent upon Him. The servant still had to make the journey, but he didn't make the journey as though God had nothing to do with it. He asked God to prosper his way, and then he continued with the responsibility placed before him.

Bringing Everyday Tasks to God

The servant's prayer is especially meaningful because he wasn't praying for something selfish or frivolous. He wanted his master's request to be fulfilled. He had been given a responsibility, and he wanted to accomplish it successfully, so he asked God to prosper his way. That gives us permission to bring our own responsibilities before God. We don't have to wait until something becomes a crisis before we pray, and we don't have to decide that something is important enough for God to hear. We can pray about our work, our plans, the conversation we need to have, the task we don't know how to complete, and the decisions we aren't sure how to make.

We can even pray for success when we are trying to accomplish something, while remembering that our definition of success may not always be God's definition of it. That last part matters because the servant asked God to prosper his way, but he wasn't demanding that God give him whatever outcome he wanted. He was asking God to guide the assignment he had been given. His prayer was placed within the larger purpose of his master's request and, ultimately, God's providence.

That is a beautiful way to pray. We can say, "Lord, help me accomplish what You have placed before me. Give me wisdom. Guide my decisions. Give me favor where favor is needed. Keep me from making foolish choices, and if my plans need to change, help me recognize that too." There is freedom in realizing that we can bring these things to God instead of carrying them as though they belong entirely to us.

Sometimes I think we make prayer more complicated than it needs to be. We may feel that we need some great spiritual reason before we can approach God, when He has invited us to bring our whole lives before Him. The servant didn't know how his assignment would turn out. He simply prayed and then continued walking, trusting God as he carried out the work he had been given.

Perhaps that is what we need to learn as well. We can pray before we begin the work, pray while we are doing it, and trust God with the outcome. We don't have to divide our lives into neat little boxes where some things belong to God and other things belong entirely to us. God is Lord over all of it, including the ordinary responsibilities that fill our days.

Pray first, get to work, and—
trust Him with what happens next.

Before You Go

Maybe today you have something ordinary sitting in front of you that you haven't thought about praying over. Perhaps it is a responsibility at work, a project you need to finish, an appointment, a conversation you need to have, a decision you need to make, or simply a task that seems too small to mention to God. But remember Abraham's servant. He had a responsibility, and before he knew how it would turn out, he brought that responsibility before the Lord. You can do the same because prayer isn't reserved for emergencies, sickness, sorrow, or the moments when we have reached the end of our own ability.

Prayer is also how we acknowledge that God is Lord over the ordinary details of our lives. When we pray about our work, we aren't saying that we are incapable of doing it. We are acknowledging that even while we work, we need His wisdom, His guidance, and His help. We can make our plans while remembering that God directs our steps, and we can work diligently while still recognizing that the outcome is not completely within our control.

And there is something else worth remembering. God doesn't promise that every task we pray about will turn out exactly as we hoped. The servant asked God to prosper his way, but he was still trusting God with the journey and its outcome. We can pray boldly while still surrendering our plans to the wisdom of God. Sometimes He will open the door we hoped would open, and sometimes He will redirect us toward something we never expected. Either way, bringing our plans before Him means we don't have to carry the burden of believing everything depends entirely upon us.

Acknowledging God in the Details

So don't be afraid to bring the little things to Him. If it matters to you, you can talk to God about it. If you're unsure how to proceed, ask Him for wisdom. If you're beginning something new, ask Him to guide your steps. If you want to accomplish something good, ask Him to prosper your way according to His will. And if the answer doesn't come in the way you expected, keep trusting Him because His wisdom is greater than ours and His plans extend beyond what we can see in the moment.

You don't have to divide your life into boxes and decide which parts are spiritual enough for God and which parts you should handle by yourself. Your work, your responsibilities, your plans, your relationships, your struggles, and even the ordinary tasks that fill your day all belong under the care of the God who has called you His own. He is not only present when we open our Bibles or kneel to pray. He is with us as we go about the work and responsibilities of everyday life, and we can acknowledge Him in all of it.

So before you begin that next task today, pause for a moment and talk to Him about it. Ask Him for wisdom, ask Him for guidance, and ask Him to prosper your way according to His will. Then get to work, doing what you have been given to do with diligence and faithfulness, while trusting that you don't have to carry the responsibility of the outcome alone. Sometimes faith looks less like putting everything down and waiting for God to do it for us, and more like praying first, getting to work, and trusting Him with what happens next.