Devotional - 99-03-01 - Preparing for a Day

Psalm 2:8 Ask me and I will surely give you the nations as your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as your possession.

Everyone has seen a film when the hero, nearing death from a massive force that is about to swoop down upon him, calmly stops and repairs something before fleeing. He is there on his horse, the arrows and spears are falling closer and closer to him, he steps off the horse and repairs the buckle on the harness of the horse. Then, just before the hoards crash upon him, off he goes, all is well as he vanishes from view.

We learn later that our hero would have fallen from the horse had he not fixed the buckle first. Thus that moment, when we all watched thinking he should be fleeing, he was really doing the one thing necessary to prepare to be safe. Many of us could learn a lesson from our hero.

Many folks bounce up from bed and begin to attend to the sweeping forces that each day brings. Every moment counts or the arrows of the day will catch up with us and the day will overwhelm us. However good our talents, such lack of preparation is only running with a broken buckle at best. We should not wonder if each day leaves us in the dust.

How much wiser it is to pause for a while to pray each morning, before we begin the haste and bustle of the day. It is like getting off the horse and fixing the buckle. The first hour of the morning is the entourage and beacon for the rest of the day.

Neglect of private prayer is one of the unspoken sins of Christians. Very few "brothers" or "sisters" will ask you how you are doing in private prayer. But it is an all important indicator of spiritual vitality. Private prayer is the pulse of a Christian. When it is weak, the Christian is weak. When private prayer flourishes, the Christian has a vital faith and a heart that is animated and effervescent.

Starting each morning with prayer is a great way to live all out for Christ. It is a small thing, but it is an act of discipline. Prayer also comes with the added blessing that the more we experience it and know its blessings, the more we can not live without it and the peace and joy it brings.

Rev. Philip Henry prayed for the health of two of his children who were sick. He said, after making prayer for them, "If the Lord will be pleased to grant me this my request concerning my children, I will not say as the beggars at our door used to do, 'I'll never ask any thing of him again;' but on the contrary, he shall hear oftener from me than ever..."

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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