A short morning prayer for work: "Lord, I give you this workday. Help me work heartily, as for you and not for people. Give me focus for my tasks, patience with the people around me and peace when things go wrong. Amen." Below are twelve short prayers for different kinds of workdays.
Work was part of God's design before anything went wrong: "the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it" (Genesis 2:15, KJV). That means your workday, whether it's spreadsheets, shifts, classrooms or caring for little kids at home, is a place to meet God, not a break from him. If email and messages usually reach you before God does, Prayer Latch, a Christian app blocker, can keep your work apps locked until you've prayed one of these. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, which is in the public domain.
"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;" Colossians 3:23
Prayers to give God your workday
1. Lord, I give you this workday. Help me work heartily, as for you and not for people. Give me focus for my tasks, patience with the people around me and peace when things go wrong. Amen.
2. Father, I commit my work to you. Establish my plans, and let what I do today be good and honest. Amen.
"Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established." Proverbs 16:3
3. God, establish the work of my hands. Let it matter, even the parts no one sees. Amen.
"And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it." Psalm 90:17
Prayers for focus and wisdom at work
4. Lord, I have more to do than time to do it. Show me what matters most, and help me let go of the rest. Amen.
5. Father, I need wisdom for a decision today. You give it generously and don't scold me for asking, so I'm asking. Amen.
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." James 1:5
Prayers for a stressful workday
6. God, today feels like too much. Keep my mind on you, and give me your perfect peace in the middle of the pressure. Amen.
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." Isaiah 26:3
7. Lord, I'm afraid of how today might go. Thank you that you are with me and will hold me up. Amen.
Prayers for a hard boss or coworker
8. Father, help me respond to [name] with grace, not irritation. Season my words, and guard my mouth when I'm tempted to complain. Amen.
"Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." Colossians 4:6
9. Jesus, let my work and my kindness point to you today, especially with the people who are hardest to love. Amen.
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16
Prayers for a new job, or for finding work
10. Lord, thank you for this new job. I'm nervous. Help me learn quickly, ask good questions and be someone my team can trust. Amen.
11. Father, I need work. You know what I need before I ask. Open the right door, and give me hope while I wait. Amen.
"Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." Psalm 37:5
A prayer for working from home
12. Lord, my home is my office today. Help me keep good boundaries: focus during work, presence with my family after it, and time for you in between. Amen.
Prayer Latch tip: Add a weekday lock time for the moment your workday starts, and put your email, Slack or Teams apps on your Lock list. Before you open the first one, you'll pray, and prayer 1 above makes a good daily default in your own words.
Is it OK to pray at work?
Yes. You don't need to stop and kneel to pray at work. Nehemiah prayed silently between the king's question and his answer (Nehemiah 2:4–5). A one-line prayer before a meeting, a hard call or a shift is real prayer. If your workplace has rules about religious expression, quiet personal prayer is almost always fine.
What's a good Bible verse to pray before work?
Colossians 3:23 is the classic: "whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord." Others: Proverbs 16:3, Psalm 90:17 and Colossians 3:17, "whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."
How do I pray before work when my phone takes over the morning?
The morning routine before work is often where prayer gets lost. Email, news and messages arrive before you're out of bed. Prayer Latch locks the apps you choose at your wake-up time, including email and Slack if you like, until you pray. Pray one of these prayers in your own words or a guided prayer in the app, hold to say Amen, and start work with your apps open and your day given to God.
Pray before you scroll
Prayer Latch locks your chosen apps each morning until you pray. Your first 7 days are free, no card needed.
Updated October 27, 2026 by the Prayer Latch team at Janus Works LLC.