Morning Prayer

By Marilyn Travis

“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”  Psalm 5:3

I was taught as a child to begin my day in prayer, and I have strived to practice morning prayer throughout my life. However, too often I “lay my requests before God” but either forget or don’t take time to “wait in expectation.” I’m not a natural when it comes to waiting! I must make a conscious effort to wait and listen for what God has in store for me and it’s always worth it.

Pastor Chris Hodges, author of The Daniel Dilemma: How to Stand Firm and Love Well in a Culture of Compromise, stresses how we must begin each day with an attitude of humility.

Every morning when I wake up, I thank God and give Him my life again for the rest of that day. Every part of my body, my time, my energy, my resources – everything I have, I give to Him yet again. I like to kneel during this prayer time of full submission to my Lord each day because it reminds me, “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less” (John 3:30 NLT, emphasis mine).  Every day I want to see how low I can go. Less of me. More of Him.

If you’re not enjoying your life, if it doesn’t feel like you’re experiencing the full, abundant life Jesus said He came to bring us, then the problem likely starts in one place. There’s too much you and not enough Him.

Two special women in our church family have taught me a great deal about morning prayer. Cathy Ramsey has taught me to count my blessings and give God thanks every day for every aspect of my life.  Cathy models an attitude of gratitude. Thank you, Lord, for Cathy! Marianne Wood says the Lord’s Prayer every morning before she gets out of bed. She doesn’t just recite the words she meditates on its meaning. She begins the day with the Lord before her feet touch the floor! Thank you, Lord for Marianne!

I found a clipping in an old journal of mine. It is from a church bulletin. I don’t know the source, but it brings the Lord’s Prayer to life in a practical way.

A man has a good day when he greets the sunrise with the Lord’s Prayer on his lips and then lives the prayer that day by:

-Noticing something of God’s greatness and beauty in the world around him.

-Fulfilling God’s good purposes with the work he does.

-Yielding to God in a choice he makes.

-Depending on God to provide for his needs.

-Forgiving someone who has offended him.

-And resisting a temptation he encounters.

Such a man is truly free and can lay his head down at night to sleep without anxiety, conceit, bitterness or wickedness disturbing his peace.

Lord, may nothing separate me from You today. Teach me how to choose only Your way today so each step will lead me closer to You. Help me walk by the Word and not my feelings.

Help me to keep my heart pure and undivided. Protect me from my own careless thoughts, words, and actions. And keep me from being distracted by MY wants, MY desires, MY thoughts on how things should be.

Help me to embrace what comes my way as an opportunity . . . rather than a personal inconvenience.

And finally, help me to rest in the truth of Psalm 86:13, "Great is your love toward me." (NIV 1984)

You already see the ways I will fall short and mess up. But right now, I consciously tuck Your whisper of absolute love for me into the deepest part of my heart. I recognize Your love for me is not based on my performance. You love me warts and all. That's amazing. But what's most amazing is that the Savior of the world would desire a few minutes with me this morning. Lord, help me to forever remember what a gift it is to sit with You like this. Amen.  

                                    A Morning Prayer by Lysa Terkeurst

God bless you.

Marilyn Travis