Communion With God

Chapter 2 —Prayer in the Morning

BIBLE GEM

“Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto Thee will I pray. My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up.”—Psalm 5:1-3 CWG 11.1

QUESTION

What is the first work of the day? For what should one pray in the morning? CWG 11.2

ANSWER

The first words in the morning: “The very first outbreathing of the soul in the morning should be for the presence of Jesus. ‘Without Me,’ He says, ‘ye can do nothing.’ It is Jesus that we need; His light, His life, His Spirit, must be ours continually. We need Him every hour. And we should pray in the morning that as the sun illuminates the landscape, and fills the world with light, so the Sun of Righteousness may shine into the chambers of mind and heart, and make us all light in the Lord. We cannot do without His presence one moment. The enemy knows when we undertake to do without our Lord, and he is there, ready to fill our minds with his evil suggestions that we may fall from our steadfastness; but it is the desire of the Lord that from moment to moment we should abide in Him, and thus be complete in Him.”—My Life Today, 15 CWG 11.3

Your first work: “Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, ‘Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee.’ This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate. Thus day by day you may be giving your life into the hands of God, and thus your life will be molded more and more after the life of Christ. A life in Christ is a life of restfulness. There may be no ecstasy of feeling, but there should be an abiding, peaceful trust.”—Steps to Christ, 70 CWG 11.4

Lord, help me to do my best: “In the future life the mysteries that here have annoyed and disappointed us will be made plain. We shall see that our seemingly unanswered prayers and disappointed hopes have been among our greatest blessings. We are to look upon every duty, however humble, as sacred because it is a part of God's service. Our daily prayer should be, ‘Lord, help me to do my best. Teach me how to do better work. Give me energy and cheerfulness. Help me to bring into my service the loving ministry of the Saviour.’ ”—The Ministry of Healing, 474 CWG 12.1

Daily prayer as essential as temporal food: “If we would develop a character which God can accept, we must form correct habits in our religious life. Daily prayer is as essential to growth in grace, and even to spiritual life itself, as is temporal food to physical well-being. We should accustom ourselves to often lift the thoughts to God in prayer.”—Messages to Young People, 114, 115 CWG 12.2

SUMMARY AND PRAYER THOUGHT

Loving Father, help us to realize that without heavenly help and the indwelling presence and power of Your Holy Spirit, we are unable to do anything that is any good. Therefore, help us that our words, deeds and actions may be the very best because we are empowered by Your Holy Spirit to do Your loving ministry. CWG 12.3

Please help us not to eat food until we have feasted on the Bread of Life first each morning. Then light up our lives by Your divine presence that through us Your love may beam to everyone we speak to or live and work with every day. CWG 12.4