In recent years I have come to realize the importance of the morning hours. There is something special about the quiet – and the coffee! – before the noise of the day. God desires, and deserves, the first. (Read more about the blessing of early mornings.)

A friend once said to me that it was his practice not to speak to any man in the morning until first he had spoken to the Lord. David wrote in Psalm 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.”

Most people look at their phones as soon as they awake. We look in the mirror. We look at the news. We look at our schedule. But the man after God’s own heart said that the first place he looked each morning was up. Look to the Lord and your whole outlook on the day will be different.

Martin Luther was remembered for famously saying, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” How opposite the way most of us think! Perhaps we will not spend three hours in prayer, but could we spend a few minutes?

As a boy I remember reading this little poem. The author is unknown but the truth is one we all can relate to…

I got up early one morning
and rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish
that I didn’t have time to pray.
Problems just tumbled about me,
and heavier came each task.
“Why doesn’t God help me?” I wondered.
He answered, “You didn’t ask.”
I wanted to see joy and beauty,
but the day toiled on, gray and bleak;
I wondered why God didn’t show me.
He said, “But you didn’t seek.”
I tried to come into God’s presence;
I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided,
“My child, you didn’t knock.”
I woke up early this morning,
and paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish
that I had to take time to pray.

Charles Spurgeon wisely observed, “The morning is the gate of the day and must be well grounded with prayer. He who would rush from the bed to the business is like he who has not washed or dressed.”

In just a few hours we will walk through the gate to a new day. A fresh start. A gift from God. We can choose to give the first moments of it back to Him. Begin with prayer. Begin by looking up.

Will you do this in the morning?

To read a few practical suggestions on how to make the most of the mornings click here.