The Beginning
It doesn’t matter when you get alone with God as much as it matters that you get alone with God. But that being said, there is a very practical reason for striving to start your day in prayer. The reason for that is…
How you choose to begin sets the tone for how you end.
I think about how often I will start a day dealing with stress and inner turmoil. I wake up feeling the anxiety of knowing everything I need to get done and accomplish in a day. Then, I can see the stress pouring out of me onto my family. It overflows into how I respond to people’s calls or texts or emails. Or whether or not I respond at all.
And then when I weigh those days against the mornings where I begin my day alone with God in prayer.
Even for just a minute or two to say, “God, You are my Father and You know everything on my plate. You know what I should prioritize and what I should let lie. Guide me today to be productive as you see fit, but even more, help me simply exist in Your presence. No matter what work I’m doing, help me to be aware of Your presence.”
There’s a calm and a peace found in the simplest of prayers, reminding us that we’re not alone. God is with us. He is a Father we can trust.
King David echoes this pattern of praying in the morning in Psalm 5:3. He writes,
“Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to You and wait expectantly.” - Psalm 5:3 NLT
And I love that he “waits expectantly.” Come on. How many of us, if we’re truly honest, ever actually wait expectantly for an answer from God? We’re very good at throwing up requests and questions…maybe even demands.
We’re not so great at waiting for answers.
“Well, I’m stressed! I’m busy! I’ve got stuff to do. I don’t have time to wait for God.”
Ahem. David was a king! Do we really think we’ve got more stress and pressure than him? Yet, he knew the way he would best lead –– the way he would best rule. The first thing he needed to do was wait for God to guide him…every morning.
Because…
How you begin your day can determine how you face battles along the way.
If we begin our days frantic and frazzled and anxious and angry…how do you think we’ll respond to the temptation to cuss out our co-worker? How do you think you’ll respond to the snark remark from your spouse?
No, your solitude doesn’t have to be first thing in the morning. The important thing is that you do, at some point, get alone with God in prayer. But even if you don’t have time for extended prayer in the morning, at least try and get with God for a moment. Because how you being your day can determine how you face battles along the way.