Prayer for Labourers on The May Day During The Pandemic
Friday May 1, 2020
So many of us are able to make huge changes for a while but then to keep doing what is needed for as long as it is needed and follow through until the end takes commitment and perseverance.
Jesus is our model. He left heaven, came to earth and lived among us, teaching and healing. In spite of doing everything perfectly He was constantly accused falsely, regularly misunderstood, and then unjustly arrested, tortured, and murdered on a cruel cross. All of this was entered into so you and I could experience love and peace and relationship with God today. In the middle of the pandemic chaos and challenges, where would we be without the care and love of God and the peace that comes from knowing that He really is still in control and will get us through as we hold onto Him and follow His lead.
So today, let’s pray for that and for all those who have to work in challenging circumstances in spite of the risk.
Loving God, we come to You today with grateful hearts. Long before we got to these days with what seems like “extra challenges” You were thinking of us and had Godly leaders, inspired by the Holy Spirit, write down what we would need to know so we could be encouraged and guided and make it through what we are facing. Not only did they write things down but their lives are such an example for us as they persevered through troubles much more severe than what we are facing today.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. Romans 15:4
We pray today to be faithful people who work well and complete the tasks You’ve given us to do. All work is sacred and we want to do our best to serve You well, God. You’ve never been lacking in the way You’ve served us and now we want to love You back and serve You well in gratitude for all You have done and continue to do for us.
We fail you over and over again but you never give up on us and it’s your enduring love and unfaililng forgiveness that has brought us to today. It’s only Your grace that will get us to the finish line and help us to make the journey with grace and goodness for our loved ones and for all we meet.
On this May Day – a day to support workers around the world – we give thanks for those workers who are often hidden behind the scenes but who labour hard and long on our behalf, during ordinary times, but also now with increased risk during the OVID-19 pandemic.
We pray today for migrant workers who assist in so many sectors of society. We pay them little and ask a lot of them, including smaller closer living arrangements than many of us prefer. Whether it is agricultural workers in the interior here in British Columbia, those who we've been hearing about in Singapore, assembly line workers in closed environments with poor air circulation, or the folks going back to work in closed quarters in Bangladesh and the millions around the world just like them, they are at risk today as they seek to make enough money to feed their families. We pray today for employers to consider their situations and make adjustments so they can work safely. We pray that those who are provided room and board as part of their pay will be given living conditions that protect them and help them live in ways that do not contribute to the spread of the virus.
We pray also for workers in industry in our own communities – beef and chicken processing plants, for example that have been in the news recently – where physical distancing requirements have not been met and people are being infected in huge numbers. We pray for the sick that You will bring healing and restoration. We pray again for employers that they will deal with respect and honesty and implement measures that are not just about a better “bottom line” but which will provide a proper working environment with protocols that get the job done in a responsible manner. We pray for the families of workers who are now in isolation wondering if they too will get sick. Give them peace of mind and heart, we pray, and support their immune systems to fight off any challenge from the virus.
We bless custodial staff in stores, apartment buildings, office
buildings, and around the community as they enter into places where others have been. We ask that you hep them do a careful and effective job of cleaning and sanitizing and at the same time keep them from contracting anything from the work that they do.
Once again we bring primary health care workers to you as they are required to not just be within the 2 meter distance but touching patients and those who are in their care. We bless them to be vigilant in the procedures they need to follow with protective equipment and sanitizing as they work. We continue to lift up community care professionals like nurses and home care workers, those who deliver meals to seniors and do community home care and so on. Whether they have the official protective equipment they need or not, we ask that you will protect them – clients and service providers alike – and help them to be able to carry out these needed support services for those who are vulnerable.
We pray for teachers and school staff as a number of places
consider opening up primary schools. There will be all kinds of challenges in helping kids do what is so against their nature – not play and socialize with one another in close range. Give staff wisdom and grace as they teach the children not just reading, writing, and arithmetic, but also how to practice safe health procedures in the classroom and on the playground. In the meantime we bless parents who are juggling their work at home schedule with home schooling that some of them find challenging. Be with the kids and help them to find ways to settle and study in these new and unfamiliar way. Give parents the understanding to know how to guide learning processes in their kids in subject areas that are not that familiar to them. Give everyone patience and a willingness to follow through with today’s responsibilities and happy hearts to respect and lift up one another in the process.
And so for all of us, as we labour today at whatever we have responsibility to do in this day, we pray that we will do it with joy, with gratitude, and do it all for the glory of God. Amen
Jesus is our model. He left heaven, came to earth and lived among us, teaching and healing. In spite of doing everything perfectly He was constantly accused falsely, regularly misunderstood, and then unjustly arrested, tortured, and murdered on a cruel cross. All of this was entered into so you and I could experience love and peace and relationship with God today. In the middle of the pandemic chaos and challenges, where would we be without the care and love of God and the peace that comes from knowing that He really is still in control and will get us through as we hold onto Him and follow His lead.
So today, let’s pray for that and for all those who have to work in challenging circumstances in spite of the risk.
Loving God, we come to You today with grateful hearts. Long before we got to these days with what seems like “extra challenges” You were thinking of us and had Godly leaders, inspired by the Holy Spirit, write down what we would need to know so we could be encouraged and guided and make it through what we are facing. Not only did they write things down but their lives are such an example for us as they persevered through troubles much more severe than what we are facing today.
We pray today to be faithful people who work well and complete the tasks You’ve given us to do. All work is sacred and we want to do our best to serve You well, God. You’ve never been lacking in the way You’ve served us and now we want to love You back and serve You well in gratitude for all You have done and continue to do for us.
We fail you over and over again but you never give up on us and it’s your enduring love and unfaililng forgiveness that has brought us to today. It’s only Your grace that will get us to the finish line and help us to make the journey with grace and goodness for our loved ones and for all we meet.
On this May Day – a day to support workers around the world – we give thanks for those workers who are often hidden behind the scenes but who labour hard and long on our behalf, during ordinary times, but also now with increased risk during the OVID-19 pandemic.
We pray today for migrant workers who assist in so many sectors of society. We pay them little and ask a lot of them, including smaller closer living arrangements than many of us prefer. Whether it is agricultural workers in the interior here in British Columbia, those who we've been hearing about in Singapore, assembly line workers in closed environments with poor air circulation, or the folks going back to work in closed quarters in Bangladesh and the millions around the world just like them, they are at risk today as they seek to make enough money to feed their families. We pray today for employers to consider their situations and make adjustments so they can work safely. We pray that those who are provided room and board as part of their pay will be given living conditions that protect them and help them live in ways that do not contribute to the spread of the virus.
We bless custodial staff in stores, apartment buildings, office
We pray for teachers and school staff as a number of places
And so for all of us, as we labour today at whatever we have responsibility to do in this day, we pray that we will do it with joy, with gratitude, and do it all for the glory of God. Amen
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