And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
Mark 1:35

Prayer is something extraordinarily personal to me. It is something I try to do as frequently as I can but also early in the morning. E.M. Bounds, a prayer warrior from days gone by, began each day with three hours of prayer. I know. That may be a little more than most of us can handle, but this is his perspective on prayer.

The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day. It is not simply the getting up that puts men to the front and makes them captain generals in God’s hosts, but it is the ardent desire which stirs and breaks all self-indulgent chains (Power Through Prayer, p.45-46).

I find my time with the Lord is very special in the morning unbothered by clanging pots and pans, distracting television commercials, overwhelming emails, and solving the latest issues in my life. I believe E.M. Bounds puts it best. God should have our first thoughts of the day.
On this National Day of Prayer, will you commit to pray? I am always a little amused at the National Day of Prayer because I think every day should be the National Day of Prayer. Every day should be a day when we fall to our knees and beg God for His mercy and grace on us as individuals. How will you pray today?

Pray Early

By the time you’re reading this, you may have already risen late. That’s no problem. The best time to pray is now. Whenever you can. My habit of waking early and praying is something that I do, not out of habit, but out of understanding that it is the best time for me. Jesus demonstrated this in Mark 1:35. For some of you, 11:30 am is your early time. That’s fine too. Whatever works. My preference is early in the morning before I get going and late at night as I finish the day God gave me. When is your best time?

Pray Undistracted

Many of you are parents and understand the beauty of undistracted times. I remember when our kids were smaller in the home, the only time we could find undistracted time was when we went into the bathroom, locked the door, and refused to answer any knocking or questions from the other side. Sometimes we would even pretend not to be in there just to have a few minutes of quiet. Even still, where do you find undistracted time to pray? Is there a place or a special room where you go to pray?

Pray Openly

Talk to God as your Father. He is your Father and wants to listen and answer you when you pray. His answers may not align with your desires, and we have to be okay with that. It aligns our thoughts and desires to His purpose and plans for our lives. In our chaotic world, we sometimes pray for peace and prosperity. Those are absolutely in God’s control and purview. If He decides to provide those things, that is good. However, He might instead give us sufficient grace to travel through those challenging paths of chaos and come out on the other side trusting Him more.

You see, our prayers more often change our hearts to conform our wills to God’s will and purpose for us. There is no doubt that He cares for us, but until we see the larger picture, we will only see things from our perspective. When Jesus prayed, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10), It was about God, not us.

Open prayers are prayers that recognize the sufficiency of God in today’s uncertain world. We do live in uncertain times, and the more consistent our prayer lives are, the more peace we will experience. God promises that to us in Philippians 4:6-7. He tells us through the Apostle Paul, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” He never promised the answers we desired, but He promised peace beyond comprehension.

That’s what we need today. We need incomprehensible peace that only God can give.

Will you join with me and pray today and tomorrow and the next day? Will begin to wake up early and seek the Lord?