In the context of church-related activities, prayer is a pedestrian practice for most genuine Christians. There is a willingness and expectation to connect with God through prayer. The Christian community readily offers all types of prayers, such as, thanksgiving, praise, adoration, supplication, proclamation, and even imprecation. The reason for this predilection to prayer is that church-related activities are viewed as the purview of God, that is, God has an interest in, concern about, and authority over church-related activities because they are spiritual in nature. But what about the workplace? Is God interested in matters such as business, finance, and economics? Is He concerned with matters of the workplace? Does He even have authority in the workplace or is the workplace about physical reality that is disconnected from spiritual reality?

The workplace is commonly viewed as a venue that exists outside the purview of God. Therefore God would have little interest or concern about the workplace. Furthermore, He even seems to have limited authority or an unwillingness to intervene in the workplace. Consequently, the workplace would simply be a place where people make money so that they can participate in the important spiritual matters of church-related activities. If this is reality, then prayer, as a means of communication with God, would certainly not be a priority for those in the workplace. And if prayer were practiced in the workplace, it would be, at best, a perfunctory meaningless activity.

But is this perspective true? Is the workplace disconnected from spiritual reality? Has God, the Creator of all, lost interest in the workplace? Has He lost authority over the workplace?

In the above text, the apostle Paul articulates an imperative to Christians regarding prayer. The context of this verse is Paul’s discussion on living based on the seminal principle of Christianity, which is presented in Colossians 3:17. This principle states that Christians are to speak and work with thanksgiving as Christ’s representatives. This means that Christians are to live congruent with a biblical worldview. Then in Colossians 3:18—4:1, Paul applies this principle to the family and workplace. The above verse immediately follows the discussion about the workplace without any interruption, which suggests that Paul’s flow of thought is continuous. Therefore, prayer has meaningful application in the workplace. In fact, we are charged to be “devoted” to prayer. Prayer must therefore be a priority. The implication is that it must be a business discipline—a regular habit that reflects humility and submission to the will and ways of God in the workplace.

God, the Creator and Lord of all, appears to be interested in and concerned about the workplace. Furthermore, He has authority over the workplace. He wants prayer to be a vital part of the workplace. This makes work the purview of God and therefore work is spiritual activity.

Given this reality about prayer, it follows that to be successful, organizations, seeking to be obedient to God, must develop the habit of dependence on God for wisdom, guidance, and protection. Therefore God directs us, including those in the workplace, to exercise prayer as a meaningful discipline to help individuals and organizations connect with Him so that we can discern His will and execute His will according to His ways.

Here is your business tip. The workplace is the purview of God and is therefore rooted in spiritual reality. God has a will for every person and organization. And God has ways that He wants His will executed in the workplace. Therefore management and workers must seek the will and ways of God through the discipline of meaningful prayer. For an organization to find and fulfill its purpose and deliver an excellent value proposition, the organization must be devoted to the discipline of prayer as an integral part of the lives of management and each worker.