The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day. - E.M. Bounds -
Anyone else have difficulty getting their mind cleared and their body moving in the mornings? Too often I find myself re-hashing the events of the day before or my schedule for the day ahead. The words above by E.M. Bounds got me to thinking... How neccesary is it for us to begin our day with prayer?
Mark 1:35
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
35 In the morning, long before sunrise, Jesus went to a place where he could be alone to pray.
This simple verse is a gold mine. Jesus started his day with prayer, and He started early. Even though he was God in human form, He recognized the importance of beginning His day in the presence of God. We see that He went to a place where He could be alone to pray. Why? How often do we get distracted by the comforts of our bed...zzzzzzzz... Maybe I have tendencies towards Attention Deficit Disorder, but I can be distracted by sounds, blinking lights on the computer modem, lights of a car passing outside, smell of the trash can that didn't get taken out before bedtime... Jesus recognized the importance of intimate time alone with his Heavenly Father. He recognized that in order to have this time, even He needed to be free of distractions. Selecting a place to pray required focus on the intent of the task - direct, uninterrupted communication with God. Although we aren't told what Jesus prayed at this time, we can be assured it wasn't a simple recitation of "God is great, God is good" or "Now I lay me down to sleep". Getting up "long before sunrise" required intent, focus and urgency. Praying was a priority. He obviously expected results from His efforts, otherwise, why would He have bothered?
We are likely familiar with the second half of James 5:16, which tells us:
"The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
How are we to be "effectual" and "fervent" in prayer? We must be intentional, focused, relentless... Do you really want results? Seriously? What does it take?
Let me use a very "now" example. Anybody follow college football? Anybody have a favorite team in a recent or upcoming bowl game? How did your team get to the top? Was it by sleeping in... was it by hoping to be a better player or a better team? Was it by chance? Luck? Fate? If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that champions on the football field, or in spiritual life are champions because they are focused... they put their time in on the practice field. They prepared for "battle" on their respective fields by studying their opponents and developing a plan under the guidance of their "coach".
Time to get in the game.
