"Ora et labora"

The alchemists' motto is ora et labora, which means 'pray and work'. Yes, pray first, and then work. Why? So that they can direct their work in the best way, for, if work makes for greater and nobler human beings, not all work is of equal value and neither are all the goals that you set yourself in your work. You should know for whom and what you are working. Because it connects us to the divine world, prayer alone brings us light and gives direction to our activities.

Thanks to prayer, light is shed on what we have to do, allowing us to use our energies for the benefit of all. Some people claim that work is prayer. Yes, that is true in one respect, but all the same it is better to pray before working.

-Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov