I love the peace and quiet in the morning, before anyone else is up. It has become my favorite time of day, to hang out with Jesus. It’s a great time to be grateful. A great time to listen to Him for the day, and to process anything that might still linger from the day before.
His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lam. 3:22-23
I am so grateful that I am forgiven, and even when I make mistakes His mercies are new every morning. There is new hope and a fresh start every single day.
Giving God the first
There is a special principle in the Bible about giving God our firsts. We give God the first ten percent of our income when we tithe, but we can also give Him the first of our time and our attention. I have always felt a very special blessing, when I have given God my first.
I know we all have different seasons in our lives, and it might not always be possible for us to start our day with Jesus. But even giving Him the first five minutes can make a difference.
I have always had a desire to honor this principal, and at times it required me to get up really early. In one season of my life, I got up to pray at sunrise every day. I even had a season, where I got up to worship in the middle of the night, for a while. Yes, it is a sacrifice, but He always meets us when we come to Him, and it’s all about following His lead. I really love when I can talk to Him, as the first thing I do in the day.
No agenda
I try not to have an agenda when I come before Him. Starting with worship helps me focus on Him and not myself. I try to make sure I read His word every day and pray, but I start out lifting Him up and allow Him to lead our time together. Depending on how much time I have, or if it’s possible to come back to this place later in the day, our time together always looks a little different. But it’s not about a list of things I have to do, it’s about sharing life.
Most of us have a certain plan and schedule for our day, but unexpected things happen so often. When we can start our days listening to our Heavenly Father, He can actually give us what I need for that day, whether it turns out like we planned or not. There is always new mercy for that particular day.
Sometimes God leads me to pray a certain way. Sometimes He gives me a word like ‘patience’ or a scripture like Heb. 13:5 ( “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you) to hold on to throughout my day. Sometimes He just loves me, so it overflows to people around me.
