I have considered prayer to be of two types. One is what I would call short petitions and thoughts spoken to the Father throughout the day. These are usually normal activities of life for the spiritual mind because his or her affections are directed toward home. The other kind is what I call “closet prayers” that require discipline and planning because it involves giving the Father your full attention, setting aside a block of time to talk to the Father.
Closet prayers require not only discipline but determination and flexibility. In other words, we must determine that we will make time for Him when unexpected circumstances of life interfere. Herein lies the challenge for most of us and our choices reflect our level of devotion and whether we love God more than anything else. Jesus taught us this lesson, well. For example, on the busiest recorded day of the Lord in which he was with the multitudes, he stopped right in the middle of a captive audience, dismissed them, and took a boat to the other side of the sea to pray (cf. Matt. 14:23). I have never done that, nor have I seen anyone else do that. It is rare to find one person interested enough to find time to talk about spiritual needs and interests. If I had such an opportunity, I would put off the block of time given to prayer to focus my attention on that one interested party. Most certainly, it would not enter my mind to leave a throng of people along the shores of the sea to pray like Jesus. The power of that lesson is, at least, two-fold. First, it shows the necessity of controlling one’s time to ensure that even the best work can never replace time in prayer with the Father. Second, if the sinless Son of God emphasized His need for prayer and allowed nothing to interfere with it, what does that say about making that a certain priority in our life?
The focus of our blog is on starting the day off in prayer. We can always make excuses for our inability to pray. Most of our excuses center around our busy schedules. Yet, you will notice that Jesus’ habit was to get away from the crowds and sometimes everyone so he could spend quality time in prayer (Luke 5:16). If you don’t have time to pray, make time by getting up an hour earlier. Jesus got up “a great while before day” to go to be alone with the Father (Mark 1:35) and in some cases, he spent all night in prayer (cf. Luke 4-6). It may mean that you have to turn the television off an hour earlier so you can go to sleep earlier. My point is that we will do whatever it takes to pray if we make it a priority.
To start the day in prayer will keep us vigil and focused. Every day must be sanctified to the service of the Father and, therefore, it is the prayer of necessity. It prepares us for the difficulties and temptations of the day. It gives direction and purpose, believing that God will deliver us from the evil one and keep us from the pathway of temptation. Make a resolution today that you will not allow another day to pass that is not started in prayer to the Father.