LORD, how many are my foes!
     How many rise up against me!
Many are saying of me,
     “God will not deliver him.”
But you, LORD, are a shield around me,
     my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
I call out to the LORD,
     and he answers me from his holy mountain.
I lie down and sleep;
      I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

Psalm 3:1-5

Prelude

Conflict in the workplace is a sad but common implication of the brokenness of work in a sin-stained world. Sometimes that conflict becomes especially bitter and personal. Colleagues, competitors, subordinates, and even your superiors can attack you, not only your work, but even your character.

The following prayer is meant for people who are being besieged in the workplace. If you’re not experiencing this now, thanks be to God! You may want to pray this prayer on behalf of others. Or you may wish to save it until you need it.

Prayer

Gracious Lord, I cry out to you in pain and desperation. People are attacking me at work, saying things about me that aren’t true, gossiping behind my back, trying to undermine me. It seems as if they’re trying to drive me away, to get me to quit. Lord, I know I’m not completely blameless. But what I’m experiencing now seems terribly unfair, unwarranted, and disproportionate.

O Lord, you are a shield around me. You protect me. You hem me in.

You are my glory, dear Lord, the one who lifts up my head from shame. You are my reason for living, the one who gives my life meaning.

So I cry out to you now, counting on the fact that you will answer me. Because I know you are there for me, I don’t have to be kept awake with worry. You help me to rest, to let go and trust you. You sustain me with renewing sleep.

All praise be to you, Lord, because you are my Deliverer, my Helper, my Savior. Amen.

Ponder Throughout the Day

The Lord is a shield around you at all times as you work.

For Further Reflection

Read all of Psalm 3, paying attention to what the Spirit of God is stirring up in your heart, especially in relationship to your work. Talk with God about what you are thinking and feeling.

You might also reflect on the following passage from Romans:

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?  He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:31-35, 37-39

This prayer is part of a collection: 52 Workday Prayers: Learn from the Psalms How to Pray through Your Work. To purchase this devotional and small group guide, visit the De Pree Center store.