Beginning each day with a meaningful time of morning prayer is a vital aspect of one's spiritual journey. Think of it as fuel for your car, or food for your body; without it, we cannot go far.
Morning prayer honors God and refreshes the soul. Believers should view morning prayer as a key spiritual discipline, a way to honor the Lord, and part of their offering unto the Lord. Indeed, Scripture notes, "O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you…" (Psalm 5:3). For the psalmist, his sacrifice was paired with his prayer. In the New Testament Book of Revelation, John refers to the prayers of believers as bowls of incense before the throne of God (Rev. 5:8).
Many believe that their prayers are somehow a burden to God—that their prayers are not really welcome or that they are not worthy to pray. Here are two things to remember: 1) We are commanded to pray and 2) God loves it when we pray. Paul said we are to "…never stop praying." (Rom. 12:12b, CEV).
Many understand it is important to pray, but few understand the importance of beginning each day with a morning prayer. It sets a positive tone, focuses the mind, and follows the positive practice of many in the Bible who prayed in the morning. Among these are Abraham (Gen. 19:27), Moses (Exod. 9:13), David (Psa. 55:17), Daniel (Dan. 10:10-28), Hannah (1 Sam. 1:19), and Jesus (Mark 1:35). Morning prayer and personal study are key aspects to a growing spiritual walk. We pray the Manna App will be a great resource to you.
A professional athlete will warm up and stretch their muscles before the competition. A fine musician will review their recital piece before the concert. A world-class opera singer will run through the scales and ready their vocal cords before the curtains open. These preliminary steps surprise few; we simply consider them requisites to success. We must train our minds to think of morning prayer in this way, as a requisite to spiritual health and being able to manage the demands of life successfully.
Through morning prayer, one can draw close to God and seek His leading and strength for the day. Psalm 90:4 notes: "Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days." Interestingly, Psalm 90 was written by Moses—He saw the 10 plagues in Egypt, the Red Sea part, bitter water turn pure, fresh water flow from a dry rock, manna appear on the ground, and quail fall from the sky, yet in Psalm 90 he wrote that his heart was satisfied "in the morning" when he reflected, through prayer and praise, on God's matchless love. Note: many articles, games, and resources on the Manna App can help you grow in the areas of prayer and discipleship.
Prayer is like light: Light diffused (like a standard low-watt bulb) produces little heat or real power. However, if light is focused, such as through a magnifying glass, it becomes a beam and can ignite a fire. And when focused even more, it can become a laser that cuts through metal. Again, prayer is like light. When we pray without true focus, as in, God bless the poor; God bless the hurting; God bless our world, then we really never see what God is doing—the effect our prayers have. However, if we focus our morning prayer time and ask for God to move in a specific way, such as, "God please see brother Jim through his surgery tomorrow," then we are better able to see God move and, as Moses wrote, our hearts can be satisfied.
Therefore, keeping in mind the recommendation to pray with focus—for specific people, situations, and needs, a basic template for morning prayer follows:
Think about the prayers He has answered and the blessings you have received. Be specific. Rather than thanking God for your life, thank God for what happened yesterday afternoon, last night, and this morning. And thank God for what you know He has done through the ages (many stories in the Bible testify to His mercy and greatness, and you likely know of how God has worked in the lives of others). And during your morning prayer, you may want to praise and thank God for His attributes—He is kind, good, loving, merciful, patient, giving, etc. Begin with a time of Thanksgiving and praise.
Remember when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit in the Garden? What happened? When they heard God walking in the Garden in the cool of the evening, they hid. Then God called out, "Adam, where are you?" Some question, how could the all-knowing God not know where Adam was? The truth is, God knew exactly where Adam was—but Adam did not know where Adam was, spiritually, that is. We share that story here to communicate the importance of beginning your morning prayer time with honest reflection, contemplation, and confession. Ask God to reveal where you are, how you're doing, where you are slipping, what areas in your spiritual walk should be strengthened, etc.
The good news is, God is merciful and quick to forgive. The key is to acknowledge and confess. So, in your morning prayer time, ask God to reveal if there are areas in your life that do not align well with God's will. Ask the Spirit to bring to mind the things you have done (or have not done but should have) that are displeasing to Him.
Jesus taught His followers to pray, "Father, give us this day, our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11). The Apostle Paul told believers to "Make their every need be known to God" (Philippians 4:6). We are to voice our prayer requests with God, not to inform Him of our needs, but to strengthen our relationship with Him and, so that we will better remember when God moves in response to our prayers.
This is called intercessory prayer. Scripture tells us to pray with others (Matthew 18:20; James 5:16) and for others (1 Timothy 2:1). Note: The Manna App has various prayer helps for those desiring to develop their prayer life.
Pray for those who lead in ministry, in your workplace, and for those who serve in local, national, and global positions of authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
John 5:17 makes clear that God is always on the move—always working on behalf of His people. What a wonderful thought. The prophet Jeremiah, the author of the book, Lamentations, noted that if we look, we can see God working. "Morning by morning new mercies I see," he wrote (Lam. 3:23), though he was living during a very difficult and dark period of history. Beginning each day with morning prayers help us be able to see God working, and when we do, our hearts are encouraged.
This is how we are able to, as Paul wrote, "In everything give thanks" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Note that the Bible does not say to be thankful for everything, but to strive to be thankful in everything—in every situation. Why? Because we can know that we are never alone. God will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) and is "always at His work" (John 5:17).
Through morning prayers, we meditate and reflect on the faithfulness of God and thereby are better able to have a proper focus for the day.
In Matthew 6 (which is part of the famous Sermon on the Mount), Jesus provides instructions on how to pray. In what is often called The Lord's Prayer, Jesus did not teach the disciples what to say—He provided guidance for how to pray. These timeless principles help countless believers pray with power and effectiveness every day. What follows is a general overview of Jesus' instructions regarding how to pray. We begin with the text:
9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matt. 6:9-13)
The template for a powerful prayer life includes remembering to pray to God, to remember He is holy and His name is "hallowed," to pray for His will to be accomplished in your life, to pray for your needs, to pray for forgiveness, to pray to be able to forgive others, to pray the Father will help you avoid and overcome temptation, and to include expressions of praise.
Follow the example of Jesus, Paul, Daniel, David, and countless greats in the faith and make morning prayer a regular spiritual discipline. Regular involvement in study and morning prayer requires commitment. The Manna App can be a very helpful resource in this endeavor. Books on prayer, prayer journals, praying with a prayer partner, and supporting a prayer team or ministry at your church will help you make morning prayer, and pursuing spiritual growth, an exciting, anticipated daily activity.
