Title: Anointed for Work
Author: Richard Brunton
Major Themes: Blessing, Prayer, Work
Synopsis: In this quick read, Brunton encourages us to work with the Lord and ask His blessing on our work, whatever it might be.
Anointed for Work isn’t the kind of book I typically sit down to read. I often shy away from books in this sort of genre because I’m afraid it will contain too many doctrinal things that I won’t agree with, but I’ve found recently that there are things I can and even want to learn from books like this. Thankfully, this was a short, quick read, which made it a lot easier to get through!
Brunton’s main premise is that we need God’s help and blessing in all areas of life—including work. Though I agree with him there, it isn’t something I’ve spent much time thinking on in the past, so I found his thoughts fascinating. One of Brunton’s points in here that really spoke to me was his discussion about praying over and through your work. Though we all know of Paul’s command to “pray continuously”, the way it’s described is quite impressive and encouraging. Brunton encourages prayer over each individual in the workplace, describing times he physically went from one empty chair to the next early one work morning, praying a blessing over the individuals and the business itself. He also spends time talking about working with God—asking Him to lead and guide in creative ways to get the tasks accomplished. I loved that thought!
Another thing he talked about was getting others—spiritual leaders or mentors, or those who have experience in the work you intend to undertake—to pray over you at the onset of your journey. Things like marriages, becoming new parents, becoming a housewife, or setting off to college—any new task that will require a lot of God’s knowledge, help, and grace for. I’d never thought about that kind of thing much—obviously, we do pray over people sometimes, but do we intentionally pray for God’s blessing and strength when heading into situations like that? Perhaps not as much as we ought to, but I’m sure the Lord is delighted when we bring even these “natural” transitions before Him as believers! Also, expressing needs like that verbally and then praying about it collectively brings unity and accountability into our relationships—which is both beautiful and needed.
I feel like I learned a lot from Anointed for Work, despite the mentions now and then of different doctrines I’m not completely comfortable with. I still feel like there ought to be a measure of caution about putting too much emphasis on just speaking words, rather than on calling on our Father to act in situations (I feel like we could be taking the glory on ourselves for what we’re saying, rather than on God for what He’s wanting to do through us). But when it comes to working with the Lord and being obedient to His call, books like this are encouraging. I’m looking forward to reading it again when I have the chance—it’s just a small book, so a very quick read, but it’s got a lot of good things packed into it. Would make a great study for a small group! Recommended.
No warnings!
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
Book Depository: Paperback
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