Matthew 6:6
“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
When your feet hit the floor in the morning, what is your first thought? At my age it is, “What hurts?” “How much sleep did I get?” followed by, “Must have caffeine!” From a young age I struggled with mornings, taking longer than most to wake up and get going. It wasn’t until our girls grew up and were out on their own that mornings became my favorite time of day. Except for the sounds of nature waking up just outside my window, the house is at its quietest which allows me uninterrupted time with the Lord before starting my day.
With the turning of the calendar page to 2024, you may be like me in hoping for a fresh start in this quest for a consistent quiet devotional time with the Lord. Full calendars and pressures of the day often weight on us, causing us to think it is a luxury to have time spent praying and reading God’s Word. Someone once said that we wouldn’t dare leave the house without performing the necessary morning ritual of brushing our teeth. How much more essential is it for us to arm ourselves each day with God’s Word and prayer!
Jesus set the example for us, making prayer a priority, going off to quiet places to be alone with the Father. His instruction in today’s verse translates appropriately to modern day—go into a room, shut the door and pray! He must have had a great sense of urgency, knowing His time on earth was limited and each moment counted for eternity.
Do we have that same sense of urgency? There are some days like that for me, when the Lord places on my heart a great sense of urgency for time to seek His face, to praise, confess, plead, cry out, offer thanks and then, most importantly, to listen. I find my heart yearning to spend even more time with Him as He prepares my heart for writing devotions. Perhaps you have that same feeling of yearning. Think of it this way—when we spend time in the Word, filling our souls daily with the things of God and, in particular, spending time in prayer, we are establishing not only communion with the Father but also a storehouse of Biblical truth, scripture verses, answered prayers and the good fruit of the Spirit for when we need it most. I pray that this poem will encourage you today:
“The Difference”
I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish that I didn’t have time to pray.
Problems just tumbled about me and heavier came each task;
“Why doesn’t God help me?” I wondered. He answered, “You didn’t ask”
I wanted to see joy and beauty but the day toiled on, gray and bleak;
I wondered why God didn’t show me, He said, “But you didn’t seek.”
I tried to come into God’s presence; I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided, “My child, you didn’t knock.”
I woke up early this morning and paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray.
~ unknown author
Heavenly Father, like many, a New Year offers me a fresh start in making prayer and time in Your Word more of a consistent habit. Before I get into the busyness of my day, please remind me, I pray, of the importance of beginning each day with You. If need be, instill a sense of urgency in my heart to always seek, knock and ask. In Your name I pray, Amen.
~ painting by Adeline Goldminc
