Our Morning Routine

17 Jan

“Morning is an important time of day, because how you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.”  ~ Daniel Handler

Alarm one turned off.  Check
Alarm two turned off.  Check
Alarm three turned off.  Check
Sit on side of bed deciding whether or not to get up.  Check
Stand up.  Check
Shuffle to the bathroom.  Check
Get all the morning bathroom rituals done.  Check
Get dressed.  Check
Stumble out of house and get in the car.  Check
Drive to work.  Check
Ready for the day.  NOT checked

We all have morning rituals.  They are the things that we do day in and day out, week in and week out, year in and year out.  They get us ready to meet the day.  They are the beginning motivators of our day.

However, if our daily ritual does not include prayer, we have gone wrong, very wrong.  Our mechanical rituals may get us ready — shaved, dressed, primped, whatever — to function; however, if we do not begin the day with prayer, we do not begin the day with focus.  We need to pray to God each day before we engage in any activity.

The first words out of our mouths should be thankfulness that we have awakened for another day.  The mere fact that we are alive is a great gift that needs to be acknowledged with thankful praise.  The second set of words out of our mouths should be, “What do you want of me today?” After all, we may have plans for our day; but, the Lord has plans for us, too.  It would be good to ask Him what He wants of us.  This leads us, then, to ask God for the grace that we need to embrace His plan for us and the grace to carry His plan out.

Only then are we ready to face our day.  Going out without checking in with God first is a mistake that too many people make.  How many times have we heard someone say, “My day was going really bad and then I realized that I never began it with prayer.”  Prayer helps us focus.  Prayer gives us strength.  Prayer gives us determination.  Prayer make all the difference in the world because when we pray we realize that we are not going out into our day alone.  We are walking with God.

FAITH ACTION:  If you begin your morning with these daily reflections, make sure to create extra time to pray as well and dedicate your day to God.  If you are reading this later in the day, make sure that tomorrow morning begins with prayer and a dedication of your day to the Lord.