Beauty & Burden of Work
Lord of the garden and the city,
You placed humanity over the work of Your hands
To tend the earth and cultivate life,
To bring order, fruitfulness, and care.
The call to cultivate now echoes in our neighborhoods,
In offices, shops, kitchens, fields, and factories.
In our daily work, let us find beauty—
In a problem solved with skill,
A product made with care,
A service offered with love.
Thank You for giving dignity to every role—
The ones that go unseen and the ones that draw attention,
Each one a part of making our places sacred.
You know the brokenness and burdens of work too—
The systems that favor the few,
The strain of too much for some and not enough for others,
The quiet grief of wasted or unmet potential.
You joined humanity as a worker in obscurity.
Between the garden and the city,
You worked like us, yet weaving hope and life
Through the toil and thistles of a master craftsman.
Teach us to work in ways that bring hope and life,
So all may share in the goodness You intend.
Bless the people we work alongside—
The customers we serve,
The suppliers or strangers whose labor shapes our own.
Bless the spaces we share—
Offices, virtual rooms, or factory floors.
May they be places of generosity, love, and joy.
Let our work be the evidence of Your work.
May we faithfully join You in reflecting Your kingdom,
Until all places are the epitome of flourishing—
Where every home and future is secure,
Every worker enjoys the fruit of their labor,
And the sound of weeping is no more.
Amen.
Ross Chapman is CEO of Denver Institute for Faith & Work, helping Christians offer a more compelling vision or work in every workplace and industry.
