Prayer @ Work – Success

Should we pray for success at work? When things go well, should we give the credit to God? How intimately is God involved in the details of our working lives? The key is our definition of success.

This question was prompted by 2 Samuel 22, which I read again this morning. The 21 chapters leading up to this song of praise recount how David established his position of power as Israel’s king, defeating enemies from within and outside Israel and uniting the 12 tribes in a way that had never been true before and would never be true again after his son Solomon. These chapters include much bloodshed (so much that God wouldn’t let David build the Temple) and seemingly senseless annihilation of large groups of people. From the Psalms we know that David continually sought God’s intervention and help in this process, and at the end of it, in 2 Samuel 22 (and Psalm 18) David praises and thanks God for being on his side.

So, should I pray before I go into a negotiation that God will give me success? When one of our business goals is met, or a property is sold, or an investment is received, should we give the credit to God? I am reminded again of the dilemma we try to put before God (referenced in an earlier post) – the football dilemma. Two Christian schools are playing football against one another. Both of them pray for a victory. What should God do? From a Kingdom perspective the outcome of the football game isn’t significant, but the impact it has on the players, coaches, support staff and spectators is. In the same way, when we are pursuing business goals, the goals themselves are often secondary to the impact on people, communities, and Creation. Sometimes our goals are specifically geared toward justice or mercy or stewardship, in which case a direct prayer for success makes sense (understanding that we have a very limited view that is bound by time, space and our own limitations). But in general success has to do with what is right and good, and that’s what we should pray for.

For David, success in his mind may have been winning a battle, and he praised God for it. But God’s perspective was greater than that, as later history showed. It had to do with consolidation of His chosen people, the model for the Kingdom that Jesus would usher in fully a thousand years later. It had also to do with establishing David as the fallible model for the infallible Messiah – Jesus. In our case, success may be much bigger than our business goals. But it is good for us to examine our goals, and ask whether we can in all conscious ask for God’s blessing on them – did they come from Him in the first place, and are they righteous and in line with our understanding of His will. Then praying for success makes sense, and giving God the glory and credit for success when we see it will make perfect sense.