Bible passage:
Parts of Daniel 2: 1-6, 10-19, 24 - In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned. And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.”... The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king. Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”
Well! many bosses out there behave like Nebuchadnezzars, threatening to destroy those working under them for not meeting the impossible expectations that are laid on them. At times, I think, if it is legal, many bosses wouldn't mind tearing their subordinates limb from limb. Even as we remember praying for such bosses, let's know that we have tough situations at hand to handle. Life in the twenty-first century is stressful for many employees. Their career, future, finance, family's happiness - all of it depends on pleasing the boss. When we have our hands full, when we have umpteen prayer points for ourselves, let's ask ourselves - do we pray for our companions, our coworkers, and partners who often are in similar situations? ls, our prayer, 'Do not destroy the wise men', or 'Do not destroy me'?
In the past week, we've prayed for our neighbors, shopkeepers, kids, older people, and so on. Unless we are like them, we often are limited by what we can think and pray for them. But, when it comes to a coworker, we usually know a lot about their personality - their strengths and weaknesses, and their needs and challenges especially pertaining to the workplace. For the amount of time we've spent with them lamenting about the challenges, have we taken them in prayer? Have we interceded to God for them?
Prayer points:
Name each coworker and pray for the need/ challenge that they are facing in the workplace.
Pray that your coworkers may find grace and favor in the eyes of authority, and that they have a stress-free working environment.
Pray that your coworker has a good work-life balance, the right priority for career growth, the strength/ mind to go back home, and have a healthy family and personal time.
Pray that your coworker is honest in their duties, efficient, and sincere in their responsibilities, and having opportunities for career growth.
If you can, try memorizing 2 Thess 3:16.
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