A Carpenter’s Prayer

As with any vocation or job, it is good to start our work by praying to God as Christians. Each job or career has its own set of concerns that we would like to pray for. However, praying about your work is not just something you do before or after your work is complete. You can pray for your work at any time of the day and any day of the week!

Why is it important to pray for your work? We need God for the grace to do our work because we do it for His glory, so we should dedicate our work to God and glorify Him with it. We pray for the grace to be excellent in our work, to be the salt and light through our work, and have the opportunity to bless other people through it because we want to glorify God with it. Even if we have bosses, we ought to work heartily for the Lord, and not for other men. We are ultimately serving Christ in the work that we do. That is also why the nature of our work should also be honored by God. Whether a white-collar job or a blue-collar job, every Christian can and should glorify God with it.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Colossians 3:23-24

23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

As a carpenter, here is one of the ways you can pray to God with regards to Your work:

Heavenly Father, I pray that You always give me the grace to pursue excellence in my work as a carpenter. Always remind me that in every piece of carpentry that I do, I should do it for Your glory, and that I am working heartily for You and not for man. I pray that You will always be my motivation and inspiration as I work. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

What do carpenters do?

Carpenters, in essence, are skilled workers that work with wood to make crafts and construct objects. Carpenters are not just limited to creating tables and chairs. They can also build houses and work on other projects where their skills are needed. One example of a carpenter in the Bible was Jesus, whose father Joseph was also a carpenter. Before He began His ministry, Jesus worked as a carpenter. In the Old Testament, we have seen records of carpenters. One is Noah, who built the ark using his skills in carpentry. When King Solomon built the Temple of God, some carpenters worked on constructing the Temple.

Mark 6:3

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

Genesis 6:14

Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

1 Kings 5:6

Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.

Is a carpenter a good job?

When we say “good”, we should clearly define what is “good”. If you are calling it “good” in the sense that it is within God’s will and you can glorify God with the nature of the work, then it is a good job. But if you are using “good” in terms of how much you can earn and the job’s prestige, it doesn’t matter. Of course, there is practicality that you must consider when considering a job and the gifts and aptitudes that you have. Just remember that life is not about money or status at the end of the day. A carpenter who earns minimum wage is just as good as a lawyer who makes above-average income, so long as God is honored and glorified with it. In other words, all jobs that are God-honoring are good. The only difference is their practicality.

Colossians 3:17

And 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.

2 Timothy 2:21

If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

Proverbs 8:13

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Psalm 111:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Most people tend to regard blue-collar jobs as jobs where you cannot make a real difference, but they can be powerful spaces. For example, imagine if there were no janitors in this world? Any public bathroom would surely be disgusting to use because no one would be maintaining its cleanliness. Carpentry is something that could bless a lot of people as well. Most houses have something essential that a carpenter makes. Things like tables, chairs, wardrobe, TV table, side table, bed, and so much more.

As a carpenter, you can bless many people through the work you do. Here is a prayer guide for you as you pray to God to use your work as a carpenter to bless more people:

Heavenly Father, I pray that You will always use me and the work that I do to be a blessing to other people. Open my eyes to how I can bless others through my work. May every object or project that I make be able to bless and help people. Help me always be excellent in my work so that I may consistently deliver quality work to others. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

What do you think makes a good carpenter?

As mentioned above, a good carpenter and any other kind of worker is one who glorifies God and works heartily for Him as they do their work. At the same time, a good carpenter does not just work for the Lord, but also seeks to be excellent in their work and improve their skills when it comes to carpentry. If we truly want to glorify God as a carpenter, we will strive to be skillful in our work.

Proverbs 22:29

Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

Here is a simple prayer you can pray as you strive to become excellent in your work:

Father in heaven, I pray that You give me the grace to excel in carpentry and grow more in skill. Help me have the discipline always to learn so that I may continually improve my tradecraft and never stop learning. Grant me the skills, knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of carpentry. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Proverbs 10:4

He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

Proverbs 12:24

The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.

Being a carpenter is not easy work. It can sometimes be a tedious job, depending on the project you are working on. However, it is a fulfilling job in a way that you know that what you just made will be helpful for someone. You could build a house made of wood for a family, a wardrobe for someone to keep their clothes in, or a table for people to have a place for their TV. Even if the work you do is considered a blue-collar job, God will still use you for His sovereign care of the world.