In the morning
“Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray. My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.”
??Psalms? ?5:1-3? ?NKJV??
“If your day is hemmed with prayer it is less likely to unravel.”
Don’t you find that to be true? I like to pray in the morning, before my day gets going. If I wake up late, and don’t have enough time to spend more than a few minutes in prayer, my day is lacking necessary ingredients — the peace and guidance of God. Oh yes, and the forgiveness and encouragement God gives.
I’m sure many of us have morning devotions. Whenever possible I like to do my bible reading and prayer in the morning–which is not to say I don’t pray during the day as well. I’m currently in Huntington Beach, California at a Jane Austen conference. Just yesterday I met an Indian woman and we shared lunch together, talking for over an hour and a half. She shared about her upbringing and Hindu religion, and I shared about my faith in Christ. It seems that only when I stay “prayed up” do opportunities like this arise. And trust me, I prayed even while we were talking.
Although I live in an urban area, Jersey City, I also like to pray outdoors. Thankfully I have a backyard that is shaded and removed from the noise and bustle of the neighborhood–I live adjacent to a cemetery so my neighbors are very quiet! If you’re not doing it already, have your morning prayer and devotion outside–for me, that brings me even closer to God.
What are your experiences with morning prayer?
I start my day with prayer and devotion but pray throughout the day. I look at prayer like food. I can’t eat just once a day, I eat several times a day to keep from starving. A day with no prayer is spiritual starvation. Good Word today.
So true Laurie
Great words of advice, Katie. How neat that you had the opportunity to talk to a lady with a different religion.
Thanks Iris – it was a God-sent opportunity.
Love your writing 🙂
I have begun my day taking spiritual and physical food together for over 50 years.
I only miss out on this wonderful way to start the day when I am away from home.
Listening was my one word a few years ago, and so before I begin doing anything, I like to listen to hear if God has downloaded an much need answer to a prayer, overnight.
A favourite Scripture is Psalm 143.8 in the Message: If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice, I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in you.
Point out the road I must travel; I’m all ears, all eyes before you.
I often ask Him something just before going to sleep, as He has proven faithful and true to answer me, as in this verse.
Mary,
Thank you for your kind words and encouraging post. Listening is so important and a practice that I neglect far too often. Thanks for the nudge!
Katie