Throughout the month of November, the Prayer Ministry will be airing an early morning devotion online to which all church members and our families have been invited. With this exercise, we hope to help to inspire and encourage our prayer lives and devotion to God through seeking the Face of God daily and consecrating our lives to him in the early hours of the day. At the end of this exercise, it is our hope that our prayer altars will be fired up again and we would be drawn closer into the presence of God. Let ‘the people draw near to me with their hearts and not just their lips’ is Gods desire for every one of His children and we want help as many people as possible to kick start the process of drawing near to God.
Devotions are about inviting Gods presence into your day. It gives you the chance to turn the whole day over to the Lord. To give God unhurried time, to tarry in His presence shows the importance you attach to God who you call your personal Lord.
What is the relevance of morning devotions before your day begins?
Morning devotions seem to be something that is very difficult for many believers because we seem to always be overwhelmed with the things we need to accomplish in the day. We never seem to have enough time to devote to the Lord especially early in the morning; the best most of us give to the Lord is a hurried 5 to 10 minutes just to salve our conscience that we have prayed today! Yet, the idea of seeking God very early in the day is very important and has a lot on benefits to our Christian journey and faith. You might lose sleep but the reward is unquantifiable.
Let us consider the following scriptures:
Ps 5:3: My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
Ps 63:1: O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee:
Mark 1:35: And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
There must be something important about early morning devotion which I would like us to take a look at briefly. In the early hours of the morning, I wake up still groggy with sleep, run straight to the kitchen to boil water for tea for my hubby, prepare lunch packs for everyone to take out for the day, I check out my to-do list for the day, get myself and the kids ready for school as they must not be late, and the list is endless… and boom, the day has already started. I’ve already read through my messages on WhatsApp and email for the day, responded to some, made decisions and thought about daily plans all without going to God first and asking for His help, direction and protection over the day.
By the time I start thinking about God, I’m already overwhelmed with all I need to accomplish for the day and I come to God already burdened down with everything. My mind is already full of things to do and I forget to be still and know that He is God over all. Ps 46:10: Be still, and know that I am God….
Benefits of Early Morning Devotion
Before the day has begun, I have spent time in His presence. This helps me to keep the Lord in view, setting the Lord before me all throughout the day. This act keeps me conscious of His presence more than the consciousness of the challenges of the day. My soul is at rest because I’m conscious of His abiding presence with me; I am not moved by the circumstances of the day.
Ps 16:8 (GNB): I am always aware of the Lords presence; He is near, and nothing can shake me.
Taking time for morning devotions means I have already expressed my dependence on Him. It shows the Lord and myself who I truly depend upon. I am aware of my emptiness without Him. Running off without Him makes me think I can handle my life without Him. You will receive His direction for the day as you remember Him first in the day.
Prove 3:6 (GNB): Remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show you the right way.
Morning devotions helps me to centre my day on who He is and not what I have to do and accomplish. My thoughts will be centred on who I begin the day with and I can truly look to Him for help. It presents me an opportunity to spend quiet moments with God, to hear His voice without the usual distractions that the day brings with it. The day has just begun and my soul can be quiet in His presence to be guided by the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit.
Getting up to pray each morning shows dedication and devotion to God. It allows me to be awake to His presence in my life. As I go about my day, I am more likely to think about God, pray to Him, ask for His help and guidance as I make decisions during the day. The word devotion means loyalty and love to a cause or to someone. What better way to show devotion to the Lord by making Him our first contact of the day before we even speak to a man.
Jude 20 says…. but ye beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. What better way to go into the day than for you to come out ready to face the day with inner strength built in by praying in the Holy Ghost.
Benefits of ELet us all start the day with God in the early hours of the morning.
The prayer ministry will like to help you with this exercise by committing the first 45 minutes of the day to the Lord. This early morning devotion will involve a short exhortation, prayers to be made in the understanding and in other tongues and a verse of scripture to think upon for the rest of the day. The outline of the morning devotion will be available daily on the church website for everyone to be able to participate online or offline.
