My oldest son had called me and had asked for prayer. Friday he would be the designated chef for the school run restaurant where he was doing his chef’s course. He had been chosen to be in charge of cooking the meats and fish for the customers of the restaurant. He was nervous.
“Dad, please be praying for me because I‘ll be in charge of the group of students who will be working on cooking the food for the restaurant’s clients.”
“Sure, son, don’t worry. Mom and I will be praying for you. But to avoid stress, you need to make sure you are getting enough sleep, that you’re well rested. Remember, also, that when you wake up in the morning, start your day with prayer. Spend a few moments with the Lord. He promises to impart His peace to us, if we bring our needs to Him.”
That was the advice I gave him.
Afterward I was thinking about what I had shared with him. Had I said enough? Jesus had been a good example in the Bible. We read, “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”[1] The Psalmist King David wrote, “Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.”[2] Elsewhere David had written, “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”[3] In the Proverbs we read the Lord saying, “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.”[4]
An old story says that one day Martin Luther and his co-worker Melanchthon had a particularly arduous and busy day in front of them. Melanchthon suggested that they cut their prayer time together at the beginning of the day in half. Luther strongly refused, and insisted that instead of their regular time in prayer, that because they had so much to do, they would need to spend twice as much time with the Lord. Just the opposite of what Melanchthon was suggesting.[5]
In today’s stress filled world, I’m sure it would help each of us if we spent more time with the Lord in prayer and Godly meditation. Whether in the morning or evening or some other time of day, if we spend time with the Lord, He’ll rub off on us. David prayed; “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice.”[6] Spend some time with God. You won’t be disappointed.
Notes:
[1] Mark 1:35
[2] Psalm 143:8
[3] Psalm 5:3
[4] Proverbs 8:17
[5] http://www.thefamilyinternational.org/en/viewpoints/hearing-god/53/
[6] Psalm 55:17
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