What is your morning routine? We all have one. Typically, mine begins with a trip to the coffee maker! While there are simple variations to my morning routine I try to follow the same pattern each morning regardless of where I am.

The course of the day is charted in the first moments of the morning. While there is no perfect formula for everyone, there are key ingredients.

The Word of God
Coffee
Prayer
Coffee
Some conversation with those you love
Coffee
Physical exercise
Coffee
Adequate time to get ready
Coffee
A good breakfast

…you get the idea. My wife has a dish towel in our kitchen that says, “This house runs on love, laughter, and strong coffee.” She is a wise woman.

All kidding aside, there are definite things that should be intentionally built into the morning hours. This will not happen on accident; it must be on purpose.

Permit me to suggest one Scriptural truth and simple practice that could be added very simply to your routine.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 13:11-14,

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

As night ends a person “casts off” certain clothing and “puts on” garments for the day. What is true in the natural realm is true in the spiritual. If we want to walk in the light we must put on “the armour of light.” This “armour” is not a thing – it is a Person. “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Every day is a battle. We are not dressed for battle until we are clothed with Christ.

Now for the idea: Each morning as you lay aside your garments from the night, ask the Lord to help you lay aside every sin and weight that would hinder the day. As you dress for the day, use those moments to talk to Christ. Declare your dependence on Him alone. Invite Him to cover every part of your life with His character.

Dressing for the day can become a reminder of your need for Christ. This is the greatest preparation.

Years ago I heard my friend, Pastor Tom Sexton, talk about the principle of being filled with the Spirit. He used the illustration that I have used many times since then of a shoe being powerless to move on its own. But, when it is filled with me, it goes where it is supposed to go!

In the same way, we are powerless vessels until filled with the Holy Spirit. He challenged us to pray each morning as we put on our shoes, “Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit today!”

This is the same principle. Allow the physical to serve as a reminder of the eternal. Put on Christ each morning and you will find that you are much better prepared for the day.

For additional ideas read “Making the Most of the Mornings.”