EARLY MORNING PRAYER
I GOT UP EARLY ONE MORNING
AND RUSHED RIGHT INTO THE DAY
I HAD SO MUCH TO ACCOMPLISH
I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO PRAY
TROUBLES JUST TUMBLED ABOUT ME
AND HEAVIER CAME EACH TASK
WHY DOESN'T GOD HELP ME I WONDERED?
HE ANSWERED, "YOU DIDN'T ASK !"
I TRIED TO COME INTO GOD'S PRESENCE
I USED ALL THE KEYS AT THE LOCK
GOD LOVINGLY AND GENTLY CHIDED
"WHY CHILD, YOU DIDN'T KNOCK!"
I WANTED TO SEE JOY AND BEAUTY
BUT THE DAY TOILED ON GREY AND BLEAK
I ASKED GOD FOR THE REASON
AND HE SAID, "CHILD YOU DIDN'T SEEK!"
I GOT UP EARLY THIS MORNING
AND PAUSED BEFORE ENTERING THE DAY
I HAD SO MUCH TO ACCOMPLISH
I HAD TO TAKE TIME TO PRAY !
Some Practical Advice
I hope you'll take the time to write this in your Bible as well and read it from time to time. I think it will remind and encourage you to establish a good early morning prayer habit. Before I close, I want to mention something very practical that I think might help you in establishing a good prayer habit. When I was a young man in my late teens, I had a difficult time in establishing a good prayer habit. We had a young Pastor at the time; only a few years older than myself. His name was Greg Sargent. I will always be eternally grateful that he taught and practiced the importance of a good prayer habit. I went to him for some council about how I could establish a good prayer habit. He told me that if I would make a determination every day for a month; to not miss a day in praying for 25 or 30 minutes each morning in prayer, I could establish a good prayer habit. It works!
Perhaps you have never had a good morning prayer habit; perhaps you have had a good prayer habit and lost it; but I would encourage you to do this. If your mind starts to wander; don't get discouraged! Just get focused again and go on praying! Most who pray have to wrestle at times with this weakness! And make whatever amount of time you decide to set aside for prayer in the morning sustainable. Certainly you should give God adequate time; but don't set an unrealistic goal that you are unable to sustain. Martin Luther used to pray for two or three hours every day; but he was a Monk! Most of us are not Monks! There will be times when you will need to spend more time in prayer; Christ prayed all night before He chose His disciples(Luke 6:12). But I am here talking about a daily pattern.
Consistency The Secret To Success
The secret of your spiritual success is going to be your daily routine. Consistency is the most important consideration. And it doesn't mean that at times the realities of life and circumstance can't prevent you from praying like you need to in the morning. That happens to us all as well. If that case, if possible, you need to schedule some time later that day when you can pray as you need to. We shouldn't be pharisaical, legalistic or develop a guilt complex over our prayer life. But you should try to make morning prayer your customary practice. There is no more important habit you can develop in your spiritual life!
Thankfully Jeanette my wife and myself are "heirs together of the grace of life" ( 1 Peter 3:7). We always encourage one other to pray each morning. Often she will remind me, "Have you prayed yet"? I have always appreciated her for doing that because I know she loves me and knows that I NEED IT! We go out each day into a world that is fraught with trials, difficulties and circumstances that we just could never foresee. It is so encouraging to know that we have asked and will not be in the circumstance that the Apostle James warns us about where he tells us - "yet you have not because you ask not" ( James 4:2).
A good morning prayer habit really DOES make a difference!
The End
For additional help in developing a good prayer habit, we offer this video sermon: A GOOD HABIT OF PRAYER
This is another video sermon on prayer which should prove helpful: LABOR OF PRAYER
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