Feeling guilty about praying for my job

[EIF5A]

I work as a researcher, and I feel guilty about asking God for success. In all honesty, I feel insecure about my competence and abilities.

Success in science means publishing in large, high-impact journals, but that’s not what I want. I just want to be in the middle — not distinguished but also not lagging behind. It is my hope that this current job is only a temporary stepping stone to helping the sick and needy in places that are affected by diseases for which a cure is not profitable. To be honest again, the prospect of gaining esteem from colleagues is tempting, but I know that is not my purpose here.

Is job performance something I can pray for or am I supposed to trust in God and try to lead a holy life?

 

[oldgraymare2]

Hi EIF5A,

I think it’s normal to want some kind of balance in a situation like this.

It also sounds like you want to know what God’s Will is for you, too, so in this instance, that is what I would pray for, or continue to pray for, if you have already been doing that.

When I am in a particularly difficult situation/faced with a dilemma, that is what I will pray for–for God to show me the way–what does He want me to do? What is His Will for me?

Prayers said for you. God Bless You.

 

[the_phoenix]

How about while praying about your job,
you offer up your job to God?
And remember, He wants us to use our talents,
not bury them in the ground.
You can do much good to help others
… every day,
even now
both through your work itself,
and by being a good steward
and giving some of your earnings
to charity.

 

[christofirst]

I think it is perfectly appropriate to pray over the work we are doing, for its success and good outcome. Its nothing to feel guilty over. Every day I work, I pray that I will be at my best, and plan well and respond well. When it comes to career choices, I pray that I might know when to make a change or when to stay the course. And I pray for all the people I work with, too. There is also much trust involved, yes, but prayer never hurts!

Something to think about: You hope your vocation/career path will lead elsewhere, to helping the ailing poor, and that’s good. But the work you are doing right now is always worth doing well - you cannot know if that other opportunity will come about. So go ahead and pray now, and do your best! (In other words, the answer to your question is: both. Pray for your job performance, AND trust in God and try to lead a holy life.)

 

[k5rakitan]

I think it’s fine to pray for success, but more importantly pray that your work will ultimately make the world a better place.

 

[VeronicaAnne]

Hmmm. Wellllll…

I’m always of the mind that if we are →

A. Humble

B. Psychologically healthy (as in - not somehow acting out an unhealthy intention)

C. Humble (yes, a second time “humble”)

D. We ask in this way →

“Lord, if you want this to be so – what I want – I ask that you make it so.”

(or, something to that effect for the wording – I just right now have Jean-Luc Picard on my brain)

:newidea:

Also - God can CERTAINLY parse out whatever from your request you are asking while still granting your request if THAT part of your request is His will, too.

Kind of like this analogy – you want a chocolate-chip cookie that has coconut in it too – and you ask for the whole cookie – even in all humility –

He can certainly grant your wish for the cookie with only the chocolate chips in it and not with the coconut in it.

OR – He can choose to grant you only the chocolate chips - and maybe only ONE chocolate chip – and not grant to you the rest of the actual cookie nor any coconut.

Make sense? (hmmmm… I’m getting all “Eucharistic” here with the “food analogy.” Eeek! :bigyikes:

==== In any case =====

God wants us to ask for things. “Seek.” “Knock.”

He could and probably already IS just WAITING for you just to ask. In faith (which, itself, is His gift to us in the first place, anyway).

He delights in granting to us anything we ask for – as long as it is not harmful to us.

Hope that might help you as you seem to be wrestling, if only a little bit, about this.

:idea:

 

[VeronicaAnne]

Very Important

That you are feeling guilty - even tempted to feel guilty –

about anything at ALL to do with asking God for something –

-------->>

Methinks that “guilt feeling” is being strongly suggested to you by Satan.

As you and I both know – he’s into that kind of thing. Satan hates, hates, hates each one of us.

And to turn us away from God in ANY way – even tempting us to feel guilty for asking our Father, our Lord, our Advocate – for even ANYTHING as long as we don’t want to “offend” God (which I know from reading what you want IS your intent) –

well, that irritates Satan no end.

How about you try this? — Tell Satan - gently ===

because, after all, no need for violence in our mood about it – so if we’re being “violent” in any way when addressing Satan then THAT “violence” in our tone just takes us to the “dark side” (so to speak)

— and tell Satan to just shove it. In the name of Jesus. I’m not kidding. I’m not trying to be cute about it or anything like that.

Just say – like a woman saint whose name currently escapes me – would say when Satan was bothering her so much in her dreams that she woke up – she, without adjusting her blanket or anything at all – actually, she just opened one eye and saw him looking straight at her – she said this –

“Oh. You. Go away.”

And she turned around and went back to sleep.

I don’t know why that came to my mind to tell you in this post. It just did. Maybe that’ll help. Maybe, it won’t. In any case –

All God wants is for us to WANT what He wants. Which I know, already, that you do.

And tell that to God. Which I know, already, that you have done.

Now – let it go. Keep doing what you’re doing at your job. In your work. Trusting that God will bless whatever is HIS will that you do.

And if it doesn’t work on any particular task that you’re doing – well, that’s just as well as if it DID work for what you were doing.

The proof is in the “fruit.”

Hope this helps.

p.s. Yes. I’m praying for you here where I am. Certain that God will make it clear for you for what you are to do next.

He has given us all whatever intelligence, etc. we need to do His will. We learn what our particular skills and aptitudes are. And we choose to use them. And to increase our skills in those things. For what HE wants us to do with those skills, etc. that we have – which, after all, ultimately are from HIM with our free choices in using them –

All we need to do is ask. Listen, Then – let it go. He is, after all, the King.

He just might surprise you.