Christian Orthodox prayers for studying/working to give glory to the Lord Jesus Christ

In my last post - "Let your deeds shine as you are the light of the world" - I talked about how, if someone is good, then their fruits will be good; there is no reason to stop oneself from creating out of fear this creation may be misused. As Christians, we are supposed to shine. 

P.S. I am still considering whether or not it is even possible to misuse a good creation, and if it is possible, under what conditions (see Footnote 1 at the end of this post if interested in my current reflection on this).

I found the following prayers to be helpful in getting me in the right mindset and ensuring that my works will be more likely to benefit the Lord, Jesus Christ, rather than the prince of this world. 

Here they are:

1. Prayer before study

Most blessed Lord, send the grace of Your Holy Spirit on me to strengthen me that I may learn well the subject I am about to study and by it become a better person for Your glory, the comfort of my family and the benefit of Your Church and our nation. Amen. 

2. Prayer after study

I thank You, O Lord our God, that You have opened my eyes to the light of Your wisdom. You have gladdened my heart with the knowledge of truth. I entreat You, Lord, help me always to do Your will. Bless my soul and body, my words and deeds. Enable me to grow in grace, virtue and good habits, that Your name may be glorified, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

3. Prayers before any task

O Lord Jesus Christ, Only-begotten Son of the beginningless Father, You said through the prophet David, "Man shall go out to his work and to his labor until evening." You also said through the mouth of the blessed Apostle Paul, "If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat." And again You said, with Your own pure mouth, "Apart from Me you can do nothing." Lord, O Lord, I listen with all my heart and all my soul to Your divine words, and with humility I flee to Your goodness: help me, the sinner, with Your grace, to complete the work that I am about to begin, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

4. Prayer at the end of work

O Lord Jesus Christ, our God, God of all mercy and tenderness, Who have immesurable mercy, untold and boundless love for mankind, falling down now before Your glory with fear and trembling I offer You thanks for the blessings You have bestowed upon me, Your unworthy servant. I glorify You, praise You, and hymn You as Lord, Master and Benefactor, and again, falling down before You, I thank You and I humbly ask of Your immeasurable and unspeakable mercy, that You will continue to bestow blessings upon me, that I may increase in love towards You and my neighbor. Deliver me from all evil and affliction. Grant me peace. And make me worthy, all the days of my life, to thank You and to proclaim and hymn all Your goodness, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever unto the ages of ages. Amen.

These prayers helped me a lot, maybe they will help you too, if you are struggling with the same things I am. Blessed is the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Footnote 1

I still have to personally reflect on whether or how the prince of this world can use our creation against us (maybe he only does so when we allow him to). J.R.R. Tolkien's works and classical music may currently be under attack, but...to me, it does seem like it was not possible to hide the logos behind them, even with the Hollywood production. The light of these works could not be destroyed. On the other hand, in the world of technology, the creativity that allowed for the rise of computers may have been easily used against the people and to socially engineer society. My argument would be that this social engineering results in the destruction of creativity, and leads to stagnation and could lead to the loss of technology. However, I need to take my time to reflect on this issue of whether (and how) good creativity could be used in a way to serve the prince of this world, instead of the Lord, Jesus Christ.