07/09/2020 -
How we begin our day is just as important as how we live it out; as a matter of fact it sets the tone for all that is to come. When we open our eyes in the morning, and immediately immerse ourselves in yesterday’s problems, then we can expect anxiety, and nothing more than to begin where we left off. However, if we open our eyes, and begin our day in the presence of the Lord, in prayer, and giving ourselves to him as a living sacrifice then we are at peace. In this way our day begins anew, and we watch for Him to move within it.
“O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.”
Psalm 5:3 ESV
Morning prayers are crucial to living our days in faith. In our morning prayers we remind ourselves that we left our problems in God’s hands the previous night, we thank Him for a restful night, and we rededicate ourselves to Him. Then we watch, and listen as He orchestrates everything that happens in our day, and leads us through it. Our first words to our families are made easy, and Christlike, and our interactions with others become reflective of our faith. Mornings are important to God as well, and He sets the tone for each day, just as we do in our lives... listen as He chides Job regarding how He rules the dawn...
““Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place,”
Job 38:12 ESV
So how are we addressing our mornings? Are we causing our new dawns to know their place according to our faith, or are we conceding them to the world? Are we praying, and finding the voice of God in each new day, or are we allowing Satan to distract us with worldly thoughts, and things, thus giving ourselves over to his lies? Do we pick up our cross again with our first breath of day, or do we leave it lay... listening as the dark one who tells us how heavy it is, and that we can better face the day alone? Friends, we need to claim our days in the name of Jesus, by praying with our first breath of every day...
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!”
Psalm 118:24-25 ESV
Are we ready to claim this new dawn, and cause it to know that God is our Father, and that this day is subject to our relationship with Him? In our first words of prayer we should give our day, and our souls, over to God, and announce that our place is with Jesus Christ as we stand in the glow of a new dawn and become living sacrifices to the Lord. In this way we can trust in Him, find peace in Him, and listen as He tells us of His plan, and will, for us today.
“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”
Psalm 143:8 ESV
Prayer:
Father, we thank you for each morning, and for your rule over it. We thank you for listening as we breathe out our first prayer with a breath that begins a new day with loving you. We trust in you Lord, and leave in your hands those worries that the world seeks to torment us with. We thank you for guarding us in the night, giving us rest, and now we approach our day refreshed, and by embracing the calm that comes from our trusting in you alone. Help us Father to guard against the dark one as he tempts us to re-enter the world alone, and to forgo our morning conversation with you. You are our strength, our protector, and our high tower; we cling to you in the dawn, and call out to you throughout the day. Hear our voices as we announce to the world...
“I am the child of God, and this is His day! Praise God from whom all blessings flow, and honor Jesus Christ my redeemer, and God’s Holy Son! Today I serve and trust in Them, and know no other god”
Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who causes every dawn to know it’s place, and every day to serve you. Great are you who orders the sun to rise each morning, and commands it to set each night. Praised be your name for your Son Jesus who walks with me through every day, and for each word of prayer I offer up to you as we travel. Wonderful is the new light of dawn, which announces my prayers, and glorious the brilliance of the sunsets that usher in my evening devotions, and rest in you. Merciful are you Father for the outpouring of your love through Jesus, and for the grace that flows over us through Him. Glorious are you, and may every dawn, throughout eternity, be met with our thanksgiving, and praise to you... the eternal light that shines forevermore.
“But I call to God, and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.”
Psalm 55:16-17 ESV
Rich Forbes