Gratitude for Work

First-Day-on-JobThis is a simple prayer of gratitude for having a job. It can be easy to take for granted at times, especially with a challenging job or a difficult boss. This prayer appears in the Labor Day section of This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day, along with a social justice prayer “Against Worker Exploitation.” Optional language appears in [brackets].

Gratitude for Work
God on high,
I’m grateful for the opportunity to work,
To contribute,
To provide for my well-being
[And the well-being of my family].
Let me use this gift for good,
In service to others
And Your holy name.

Remember the poor and the homeless,
The needy and the unemployed,
So that they find dignity and fulfillment
In the works of their hands
And the works of their minds.
Rescue them from the shadow of fear.
Bless all who are jobless with a livelihood
So that they know health and happiness,
Security and peace.

Source of goodness and life,
Grant me success and prosperity in all my endeavors.
Grant me the ongoing joy of fruitful labor.

© 2017 CCAR Press from This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers For a New Day

Postscript: See also the social justice prayers “Against Worker Exploitation” and “Against Poverty.”

Please check out my Meet the Author video and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Source: Career Rocketeer

Tags: , , ,

“Alden has become one of Reform Judaism’s master poet-liturgists…" - Religion News Service, Dec. 23, 2020

“Mesmerizing, spiritual, provocative, and thoughtful, Alden was everything you would want in a guest scholar and teacher.” – Rabbi Denise L. Eger, Congregation Kol Ami, Los Angeles, and Past President, CCAR

"Alden Solovy has become one of the most revered liturgists of the last decade…" - Jewish Post & Opinion, March 29, 2023

“Alden left everyone feeling inspired.” – Cantor Jeri Robins, Shabbat Chair, NewCAJE6