Good afternoon everyone. It’s February 2021 and I am sitting here enjoying the fresh clean snow outside surrounded in sunshine here at my home. As I look around I am reminded of the wonder of God’s creative hand in all the various landscapes we all experience from our own homes.
This morning I stopped for just a moment in prayer to feel grateful for all His many great blessings. I don’t always take the time to stop and think about this. Sometimes, morning prayer for me is a struggle, with lots of to-do lists creeping up in my consciousness as I try to pray. But, I can say, that when I consciously take the time to begin my day with prayer, my day actually goes much smoother, and I accomplish a lot more.
While many folks might disagree about a number of ideas at this time, I think that all men and women of good will can agree that the world can never have too much prayer. Our souls are thirsty. We are dehydrated spiritually. It’s well known that we cannot satisfy a spiritual thirst with worldly fixes. We cannot rehydrate our souls – and therefore thrive in all aspects of our lives – without prayer.
So how do your best days begin? Does committing to starting your day with daily prayer, however brief ever cross your mind? Matthew Kelly writes a beautiful book on the power of daily prayer called “I Heard God Laugh”. He says that beginning each day with prayer, will further empower us to harness prayer to give real direction to our lives at the beginning of each day.
There is a difference between knowing about prayer and experiencing prayer. You may be asking: “Why should I pray”? Good question ! We have so many questions and all too often we turn to the people around us as we look for answers, instead of turning to the one who has all the answers to all the questions. Your questions are the gateway to the answers you seek… Treasure your questions. Honour them enough to seek answers and not just any answers.
It takes courage to place our questions before God in prayer. It takes patience to wait for the answers, which are sometimes given to us in prayer and sometimes delivered through other people and our experiences of daily life. It takes wisdom to live the answers we discover. I pray you are blessed with an abundance of courage, patience and wisdom for considering a journey of embracing the habit of daily prayer.
If considering trying this daily habit of prayer is new for you, or if you decide to deepen your experience of daily prayer, over time, you will become more aware of how praying (or not praying) impacts you, your life, your relationships, your work, health, your daily decisions and all aspects of everyday life. This growing awareness is ordinary and practical and yet, it is one of the most profound spiritual gifts.
After awhile, you may notice that you feel the difference when you don’t follow a regular morning prayer routine. You may feel less joyful, unfocused, stressed, less conscious of what is happening inside and around you, less capable of giving the ones you care most about the love and attention they deserve, as well as disconnectedness from God.
It may be as if you feel disconnected from yourself when you don’t start your days in the way that you know works best. Remember friends, this is just “MJ’s food for thought”. Ideas for you to consider incorporating into your daily routines.
Mathew Kelly says that people he knows, who have a strong habit of daily prayer, they know how their best days begin and the more mature among them (in wisdom not age) will do almost anything to defend their morning routine. They would rather get up an hour or 10 – 15 minutes early than forgo their morning prayer. They know that a day that doesn’t start well tends to not end well.
So how do your best days begin? Perhaps during this Lenten season, try considering beginning your day with prayer, however brief and make a mental note of how it impacts the rest of your day. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon everyone. Blessings, MJ xo. Some thoughts taken from MK’s book “I Heard God Laugh”.
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