God our Father watch over all who work at this airport.
Let them know the power of your loving kindness and help them to use their gifts to your glory and for the good of the whole community.
Amen
The Serenity Prayer
by Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
A Psalm of work
1 I enjoy my work, for you have given it to me:
you are a God who works, and I work with your blessing.
2 You are there when I go to work in the morning:
I meet you in my friends as we greet one another,
3 as we prepare for the day, you speak to me
through others: you are in new ideas and the training we share.
4 My concentration reflects your loving care:
your creative power inspires my thoughts and actions.
5 When I help another it is you that I meet;
as I serve a customer, I am serving you;
6 when I am called to give account to my superiors:
it is your judgment I face and you will judge in fairness.
7 If others treat me harshly, I am only your servant:
Jesus was also the servant of others;
8 his work was to make your love visible:
in my successes I too am completing your work of creation.
9 Long ago monks were told that to work is to pray:
help me see my task today as part of your purpose.
10 My achievements I offer to you;
exhausted I give you my life.
[John Hammersley]
Come, God of the city, into my city
Put up a sign – ‘Danger – God at work’
Build places of welcome – places to play – riotous sound and colour
Build homes for celebration with friend and stranger
Build places of worship – places to pray, spaces to listen and rest in quietness
Illuminate with your energy
Add your wine to my parties
Bring generosity to my economy
And offer hospitality through my openness
[Janet Corlett]
Creator God, you have called us to do your will in the world, in the name of Jesus.
You have called us to be shop assistants and social workers
truckers and teachers
carpenters and chemists
engineers and evangelists
labourers and lawyers
and much else besides.
We pray with all people in their daily life and work:
enjoying fulfilment in a purposeful job or challenging vocation,
staring at the uncertainty of redundancy or dismissal,
holding immense responsibility and facing testing decisions,
feeling exploited by injustice in trade,
caring for others, unpaid and unsung.
And we pray with people for whom time passes slowly:
seeking employment, frustrated by repeated refusals,
unable to work through illness and incapacity,
retired, now wondering where they are still wanted,
finding their work a drudge, dreading each new day,
still listening for God’s call.
Enabling God,
we commit to you the insights of our minds,
the labour of our hands,
and the love of our hearts,
as we share in daily community life
and shape the future of your created world.
Amen
[John Bell]
I arise today
Through a mighty strength:
God’s power to guide me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s eyes to watch over me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to give me speech,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to shelter me,
God’s host to secure me.
[Bridgid of Gael c.451-525]
Lord God, bless the labour of our hands,
whether in the office or in the kitchen;
on the farm or in the garden;
on the hospital ward or with an unwell friend;
in the school or the world of business;
on the phone or on the computer;
when holding our children or our grandchildren.
May all we do this day be done to your glory.
So, Lord, bless the labour of our hands.
[Brian Hudson (adapted)]
God, you have set before us a great hope
that your kingdom will come on earth, and have taught us to
pray for its coming; make us ever ready to thank
you for the signs of its dawning,
and to pray and work for the perfect day when
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
[Traditional]
Listen to the exhortation of the dawn:
Look well to this day! For it is life;
The very life of life.
In its brief course lie all the verities
And the realities of your existence;
The bliss of growth
The glory of action
The splendour of beauty:
For yesterday is but a dream,
And tomorrow is just a vision;
But today well lived
Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness,
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day!
Such is the salutation of the dawn.
[From the Sanscrit]
Lord, teach me to find space
even in the hubbub and turmoil of daily life,
to discover moments of tranquillity
in the most unlikely places.
Help me to transform
the frustration of the traffic queue,
standing at the checkout
and waiting for my turn in the doctor’s surgery
into an oasis of stillness within
as I allow Christ
to be all things
and in all places
to me. Amen
[David Clowes – from 500 more prayers for Special Occasions (2008) Kingsway]
O Christ, the Master Carpenter, who at the last, through wood and nails, purchased our
whole salvation, wield well your tools in the workshop of your world, so that we who come
rough-hewn to your bench may here be fashioned to a truer beauty of your hand. We ask
it for your own name’s sake. Amen
[Traditional]
[The above prayers have been produced by the Faith and Work Group of the Methodist Diaconal Order (March 2009).
Electronic copies can be downloaded from www.methodist.org.uk/businessworksheets]
A traveller’s prayer for those who work at the airport
Today I fly, Almighty God,
and in doing so, I place my well-being
into the hands of others.
May I be generous and courteous
...as they serve me at Check In
…through security screening
...while boarding the aircraft
...during the flight
...on arrival
...through passport control
...collecting my bags
...going through customs
May I both see and offer love
Interpreted in task
Given in service
Received with gratitude
through your love shown to me
in Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
A worker’s prayer
Eternal and everlasting God,
who has ordained that all should work for their daily bread, show me the work that you have appointed for me.
You know the things I need.
Help me to find an honest task and a fair reward. Let me not despise my work,
even if it seems small and insignificant.
Help me to do it so well, that it may please you, and that, being faithful in small things, I may become worthy of trust in greater matters.
Give me grace to be able to help others who come along my way; hold me in your arms of mercy and keep me safe.
Amen.
A prayer of comfort
God of all comfort,
pour your love into our hearts
so when we are beaten down and utterly discouraged - and our sorrow is greater than we can bear, our lives may yet be filled with your peace.
Hold [me/us/Name] in your arms of mercy and keep [me/us/them] safe. Amen.
For those who are sick
God of power, by the might of your command you drive away from our bodies all sickness and all infirmity:
Be present in your goodness with those for whom we pray, that their weakness may be banished and their strength restored; and that, with health being renewed, they may bless your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A prayer of blessing
May God be a bright flame before you,
a guiding star above you,
a smooth path below you,
a kindly shepherd behind you
Today, tomorrow and forever
Amen.
Some Prayers from the Catholic Tradition:
Through the Workday
from www.stpeterslist.com/8838/8-prayers-to-help-you-through-the-workday/
Ora et Labora (“Pray and Work” to the layman), the motto of the Benedictine order shouldn’t just be used for those called to the consecrated life, but it needs to be ascribed for all Catholics in every walk of life, especially those in the workforce.
To Start Your Day: “Good Morning, Heavenly Father”
Offering your day up to the Lord is an exceptional way to start your day. I try to say this along with the Angelus when I wake up, so that I start my day with a humble heart
Thank You dear Lord,
for protecting and preserving me during the night
and for giving me this new day.
Good morning Heavenly Father,
and thank you for the glory of the sun.
And thank you for the health I have to get my duty done.
I shall devout the hours of this golden day to You,
by honouring Your Holy Name in everything I do.
I shall pursue my daily art without complaint or fear
and spend my every effort to be friendly and sincere.
I know there have been many days that I have whiled away.
But this is one that I will try to make Your special day.
And so once more,
Good Morning Heavenly Father.
And please depend on me
because I want to honour you for all eternity.
Amen.
For the Commute: The Rosary
I know that it doesn’t sound like the typical venue for praying the Rosary, but praying the Rosary while driving is a very good thing (just don’t shut your eyes).
For When You Sit Down at Your Desk
Almighty God, whose hands hold all matters of life,
give me grace of success in the work that I do.
Help me to give it the careful thought
and the strict attention that will lead to success.
Watch over me and govern my actions,
that I may not mar its perfection.
Show me how to give my best,
and let me not despise the toil that is necessary to complete it.
Make my life a successful one,
in that every duty you give to me,
I do it well.
Give me the blessing of your help and guidance,
and suffer me not to fail.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Throughout the day: The Angelus
The Angelus is a prayer that focuses on the Incarnation. It is said three times a day: 6 am, Noon, and 6 pm, so that you can begin, continue, and end your day with Incarnation as the focus of your day.
A Prayer for the End of the Day
Eternal Father,
I desire to rest in Thy Heart this night.
I make the intention of offering to Thee
every beat of my heart,
joining to them as many acts of love and desire.
I offer to Thee my every breath and heartbeat
as a prayer of reparation.
Amen.
A Catholic Prayer to St Joseph, Patron Saint of Workers
Saint Joseph, husband of Mary, Carpenter of Nazareth is the Patron Saint of Workers. It is hard for us “look at our work with the eyes of faith”, but if we can look at our work in this way, perhaps we might derive more satisfaction from it.
Joseph, by the work of your hands
and the sweat of your brow,
you supported Jesus and Mary,
and had the Son of God as your fellow worker.
Teach me to work as you did,
with patience and perseverance, for God and
for those whom God has given me to support.
Teach me to see in my fellow workers
the Christ who desires to be in them,
that I may always be charitable and forbearing
towards all.
Grant me to look upon work
with the eyes of faith,
so that I shall recognize in it
my share in God’s own creative activity
and in Christ’s work of our redemption,
and so take pride in it.
When it is pleasant and productive,
remind me to give thanks to God for it.
And when it is burdensome,
teach me to offer it to God.
Amen
St. Joseph the Worker, Pray for us!
Prayers for those affected by redundancy or restructuring
Prayer on being made redundant
"Redundant"- the word says it all -
"useless",
"unnecessary",
"without purpose",
"surplus to requirements".
Thank you, Heavenly Father,
that in the middle of
the sadness,
the anger,
the uncertainty,
the pain,
I can talk to you.
Hear me as I cry out in confusion,
help me to think clearly,
and calm my soul.
As life carries on,
may I know your presence with me
each and every day.
And as I look to the future,
help me to look for fresh opportunities, for new directions.
Guide me by your Spirit,
and show me your path,
through Jesus, the way, the truth and the life. Amen.
Prayer for those remaining in the workplace
Life has changed:
colleagues have gone - redundant, out of work.
Suddenly, what seemed so secure is now so very fragile.
It's hard to know what I feel:
sadness, certainly,
guilt, almost, at still having a job to go to,
and fear of the future:
who will be next?
how will I cope with the increased pressure of work?
Lord Jesus, in the midst of this uncertainty, help me to keep going:
to work to the best of my ability,
taking each day at a time,
and taking time each day to walk with you
for you are the way, the truth and the life. Amen.
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