1. Starting your day in prayer reminds you of your purpose.

The Westminster Confession says: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” You and I were created to have a relationship with the living God. That’s an amazing concept if you think about it. In fact, when I focus on that concept as soon as I wake up, it’s enough to get me out of bed in the first place as I realize that my Creator is waiting to enjoy the day with me. If it were the other way around, I’d probably wait until I felt like being with God. But He is always waiting for you and me. And who are we to let the God of the Universe wait?

When you go to Him in prayer, before you even get up, or as you’re getting up, or as soon as you get up, you are reminded that life is about the relationship with God, enjoying Him, serving Him, obeying Him, pleasing His heart. Psalm 16:11 says “In His presence is fullness of joy.” Be in His presence, through prayer, and experience the joy of being in His will, first thing in the morning.

2. Starting your morning in prayer helps you sharpen your focus.

The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14 “This one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on…” What did he press on toward? The prize – the relationship with God. In spite of everything, Paul knew the one thing he needed to do was to keep his relationship with God a priority.

What is the one thing you must do each day? Maybe your answer is “I must take care of my children.” Or, “I must complete that assignment.” Maybe it’s even “I must get through this day.” Yet God tells us in Matthew 6:33 that He “will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the kingdom of God your primary concern” (NLT). By going to God in prayer you are showing Him that you know the one thing you must do each day (prioritize your relationship with God) and all the other things will fall into place.

Through the past 30 years, I’ve found that when I take the time to start my day off right – by rising a little earlier so I have time to get quiet and spend some time talking to God – I am able to focus first and foremost on the one thing that is most important (my relationship with God) and then the other things I need to do fall amazingly into place.

Related Resource: Listen to our FREE podcast, Teach Us to Pray with Christina Patterson. You can find all the episodes at LifeAudio.com. Here’s Episode 1: