Pray First

What is the first thing you do each morning? What’s next? What’s after that? Some
may go straight for a cup of coffee, a shower, a workout, or prodding the rest of the
family to get ready and going to the places they need to be. But what if the first thing
we did each day was pray?

How would our whole day change if we committed to prayer as our first action of every
day? We would certainly face less anxiety, know God more, and hear His voice if we
started each day with prayer. Philippians 4:6-7 tells us “Do not be anxious about
anything, but in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let our requests be made
known to God. And the peace that passes all understanding, will guard our hearts and
minds.” We each have concerns for our family members, friends, finances, and the
future. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with fixing all the hurts, guiding all the paths,
and planning for everything that could adversely affect us. However, when we allow
ourselves to be overwhelmed, we are robbed of the peace that passes all
understanding our heavenly Father has promised us. We need only to hand over our
concerns as we sit in His presence for Him to take our burden away and replace it with
peace. His peace doesn’t necessarily turn us into bystanders in every situation, but it
does move us off the front line so we are behind the omnipresent God of all. Once we
are off the front line, we can lean in to God more because we are no longer concerned
with the attacks of our enemy. When we lean in to God more, we know Him better,
learn more about His character, and more easily see His guidance in our lives. When
we know Him better, His peace becomes a stronghold for our hearts and we trust Him
more with every challenge and struggle. Do you see how praying first leads to a more
intimate relationship with our Father in Heaven?

What if we prayed like Jesus? He not only provided a model prayer for us in Matthew
6:9-13, He modeled a prayerful life in Mark 1:35 “And in the morning, rising up a great
while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there he prayed.”
Prayer is most effective when it isn’t something we just do every now and then, but
when it is a lifestyle we cultivate. To understand how to have a lifestyle of prayer, we
can look to the example Jesus gave us during His life on earth. Jesus had a certain
time to pray. He got up early in the morning to spend time with His Heavenly Father.
We should make a daily appointment with God – whether it’s first thing in the morning,
at lunch, or in the evening – and faithfully keep the appointment. Jesus had a certain
place to pray. Having a designated place to pray helps us remove distractions and
frees us to worship and pray out loud. Jesus had a certain plan for prayer. He gave us
the Lord’s Prayer as an outline, but our daily plan for prayer can vary. Whether it
includes worship music, Bible reading, or time to listen to God, it doesn’t always have to
look the same. It just helps when we have a plan for connecting with Him regularly.

In every situation whether good or bad, we should strive to pray before we act. Prayer
should be our first response, not our last resort. John 15:5 illustrates that apart from
Jesus, we accomplish nothing of value, but Matthew 19:26 promises that with Him all
things are possible. My prayer is that you will be encouraged and challenged to lean in
to God more through a purposeful plan to pray. That you will have intimacy with God
through consistency, honesty, and reliance on prayer. That you will share with Him the
good, the bad, and the ugly while you celebrate Him in the victories, answered prayers,
and increased times of spiritual strength. Then as prayer becomes part of your everyday
life you will pray…
Before the day begins…
Before you go to bed…
Before you go to work or school…
Before you send that text…
Before you react…
Before you eat, drive, or travel…
In every situation…pray first and enjoy the journey.