How Do You Begin Each Day?

With a cup of coffee; right? Personally, I prefer a Pepsi. I suppose that neither might be the healthiest of nutritional habits, but for many caffeine is the preferred means of physically jumpstarting the day. For others it may be jogging or some other form of exercise. Human beings, however, are both physical and spirit. How do you jumpstart your spiritual nature in preparation for each day? I believe it is the more important of the two.

The prophet Jeremiah speaks eloquently of the potential mercies of God awaiting us each day: “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23) Martin Luther recognized the potential of each day, when he said, “I have so much to do that I spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it.” E. M. Bounds tells us that, “The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees.” Henry Ward Beecher writes, “In the morning, prayer is the key that opens to us the treasures of God’s mercies and blessings. . . .”

In times of great stress, I have often begun the day by a prayer based on Ephesians 6:10-18. I usually pray about something in each verse asking God to specifically protect me with each piece of His armor. I also love the following prayer of St. Patrick and it is appropriate to begin any day with (perhaps it is my Irish bias):

“I rise today with the power of God to guide me,

The might of God to uphold me,

The wisdom of God to teach me,

The eye of God to watch over me,

The ear of God to hear me,

The word of God to give me speech,

The hand of God to protect me,

The path of God to lie before me,

The shield of God to shelter me,

The host of God to defend me against the snares of the devil and the temptations of the world,

And against every man who meditates injury to me, whether far or near.”

Of course, we do not need someone else’s written prayer to begin our day, but it is a good beginning. Do you have a favorite prayer to begin the day with?