For Christian entrepreneurs, beginning the workweek with Jesus can be a simple practice: make room for Scripture and prayer, name the people your work will affect, surrender the pressures you are carrying, and choose one concrete way to serve. Let that time shape the week’s first decisions.

During First Fruits on October 5, 2026, Darrel Frater led a reading of Matthew 22:34–40, reflected on loving God and loving our neighbors, and prayed with founders and community members. The conversation connected a Monday morning prayer call with the ordinary responsibilities waiting outside it: customers, employees, family, commitments, and the use of our gifts.

The following practice draws on that session. You can use it on your own or with a small group before the week becomes busy.

Begin with gratitude before making requests

Darrel opened by giving thanks for life and the opportunity to begin another workweek. Later, his prayer returned to the gift of being able to speak, serve, and contribute.

Start by naming something you have received: the ability to work, someone who has supported you, an opportunity to learn, or the strength to take the next step. Gratitude can be specific even when your circumstances are difficult.

Then bring those circumstances honestly into prayer. You do not have to resolve every problem before you can turn toward God.

Read a passage that gives your week direction

In Matthew 22:34–40, Jesus joins love for God with love for our neighbors. Darrel’s reflection treated those two commandments as a foundation for conduct throughout the week.

Read the passage slowly. Consider two questions:

• Where do I need to trust God with my attention, desires, or decisions?

• Who is in front of me this week, and what would care for that person require?

Darrel described neighbors as the people we encounter and have opportunities to serve, support, and give to. For a founder, that makes the reflection concrete. Your calendar already contains people whose needs deserve your attention.

Pray for clarity about whom you are called to serve

One part of the session’s prayer asked for discernment about an assignment: whom to serve, how to serve them, and how to express the love of Christ through words and actions.

Bring one responsibility into focus. It might be a customer problem, an employee conversation, a family commitment, or a decision about how to use your time.

For example, imagine you have promised a customer an update by Tuesday. A practical response to Monday’s prayer could be to check the facts, give an honest account of progress, and communicate before the customer has to chase you. This is a hypothetical application of the session’s emphasis on service.

Prayer can accompany the practical work of listening, checking information, and following through.

Name your needs and make room for someone else’s

First Fruits made space for participants to share petitions, encouragement, and testimony. Darrel invited both prayer and practical help, including relevant introductions and resources.

When you pray with others, make a request someone can understand. Explain the situation briefly and say what support would help. Share only what is appropriate for the setting, particularly when a gathering is public.

Also listen for an opportunity to contribute. You may be able to offer encouragement, experience, a useful resource, or an introduction you can responsibly make. Darrel’s prayer asked that blessings flow through people to others. That gives the conversation a direction beyond receiving help.

Carry one act of service into the week

Jasmine reflected on identity in Christ and the purpose of the gifts and abilities she brings to her work. Philip encouraged participants to approach their interactions in business as a responsibility of stewardship. Those contributions reinforce a practical question: how will the gifts you have received become useful to someone else?

Before you return to work, choose one action you can name and complete. Listen carefully to a customer. Keep a commitment. Share a resource. Ask a teammate what support they need. Make time for a family responsibility that has been crowded out.

Keep the action specific enough to revisit. At the end of the week, ask whether you followed through and what you learned. Bring that reflection into your next time of prayer.

A prayer to begin Monday

This is an original prayer inspired by the session’s themes, rather than a transcript quotation.

Lord Jesus, thank you for the life, people, and responsibilities you have entrusted to me. Help me love you with my heart, soul, and mind, and care for the people I encounter. Give me clarity about whom I am called to serve. Help me speak truthfully, listen patiently, and follow through with care. Let the gifts and resources I receive become a blessing to others. Guide my work this week. Amen.

First Fruits creates space to begin the workweek with Scripture, prayer, and fellowship. You can carry that practice into your own Monday: turn toward God, remember the people in front of you, and take one faithful next step.