I once saw this written somewhere. It seemed wise but was quickly forgotten as most clichés often are despite the wisdom they contain. Only recently did the significance of this little phrase come home to brood. And as the how and the why of it all dawned on me, I realized how much potential has gone to waste because we constantly forget and continually fail to let our work be our prayer.
The best illustration of how one’s work can be their prayer is contained in a quote attributed to Martin Luther King Jr. who said:
If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or a Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, “Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”
The question of course is whether your work is worthy of being offered up to your God on the altar of sacrifice? Would you have the courage to look up to the heavens and cry out, “Dear Lord, this work of my hands I offer to you for your glory?” Would you pray that your work be magnified so it can be a testimony of what those who believe in Him can achieve through His power? Or would you be afraid he would find all the shortcuts you had taken and refuse your sacrifice?
Until you have done your best work and know you can do no better, until you have given your all each day and have held nothing back for whichever reason, your work is not yet a sincere prayer. When you shall have done your best and given your all, you shall feel the same peace and contentment one feels after an earnest and honest prayer. Peace and contentment which are borne from the realization that the ball is no longer in your court but in God’s. Your soul will know that all it has to do is wait on God to do his part; then you can finally reap the fruits of your labor.
Letters from the Men's Den 