Start the Day Right

“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.” (Ps 5:3-4 AV)

David felt the most important way to start the day was in prayer.  In the context, he is starting his day in prayer because the LORD cannot dwell with evil.  The more one meditates upon these verses, the more astounding and profound they become.  David is concerned with how the rest of his day will go.  He knows that above all else, God desires obedience.  If there is evil or wickedness in the day, the day has been wasted.  How we start the day goes a long way in how the day will go.

When I was a kid, TV commercials really pressed breakfast cereals.  One such commercial was for frosted flakes.  Then it was frosted mini wheats.  Wheaties might have had the same idea.  The commercial (usually played on Saturday mornings during the cartoons) would show a child going off to school without having a good breakfast beforehand.  The child would be shown throughout his day as half falling asleep or dragging himself through the day.  In one commercial, it would show him unable to take a test.  Then, the commercial would show another alternate reality.  One where the boy had a big bowl of frosted flakes for breakfast and Tony the tiger would follow him around school that day.  He would ace a test, hit a home run, and enjoy his day of school.  The implication was obvious.  In order to get the most out of a day, one should start it off with a good breakfast.  Specially if it was the cereal in the advertisement.

How we start the day will set the tone for it.  If we are up in time (and we should be) to start the day in our Bibles and in conversation with the LORD, our day goes much different.  If we start the day asking for God’s protection in our thought life, our attitudes, and our willingness to serve, then the day goes much better.  However, if we rise from our beds too busy for God, our minds and hearts are soon after the flesh and the world.  This I have found that the very first few minutes of the day are oft times the most vulnerable.  Our minds are not fully awake.  Our hearts are not yet on high alert.  Remembering that prayer is the first thing that should enter our minds is certainly the wisest of choices.  It does not need to be full-blown down-on-your-knees intercession.  A simple conversation will do.  Starting the day with God ensures we will continue it throughout.