Sunday, January 29, 2012
21 Day Prayer Challenge
Day 1
“I believe that your
destiny is determined in the early daylight hours. How you start the day will determine what the
rest of the day is like. That is why
praying and reading Scripture in the morning is so important. It sets the tone. Like turning the dial on your radio, it’s the
way you tune into God’s frequency. And
that daily discipline will ultimately determine your destiny.
Nearly two decades ago I read a
biography of the famous evangelist and Chicago pastor, D.L. Moody. Why did God use him so powerfully to change a
city and impact his generation? I think
it’s simple: he had a daily discipline of seeking God first thing in the
morning. Moody was an amazing preacher,
but he was an even better pray-er. In
his own words, “I would rather be able to pray like David than to preach with
the eloquence of Gabriel.” Moody said he
felt guilty if he heard the blacksmiths hammering before he was praying. That imagery convicted me and challenged me
when I was first starting out in ministry.
I knew that prayer would determine my potential. And while we don’t have too many blacksmiths in
DC these days, I love getting up before the nation’s capital is waking up.
David set the standard in Psalm 5:3:
In the morning, O
Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning, I lay my requests before you and wait
in expectation.
One of the reasons why many people
don’t feel intimacy with God is because they don’t have a daily rhythm with
God. They have a weekly rhythm. If all
you have with God is a weekly touchpoint called church, you’ll lose touch with
God. Would that work with your spouse or your kids? It doesn’t work in God’s family either. We need to establish a daily rhythm in order
to have a daily relationship with God.
The best way to do that is to begin the day in prayer.
Is it always easy? No. That’s why I love the determination in David’s
voice: In the morning, O Lord, you will hear my voice. That’s what it takes doesn’t it? It’s hard to get up early, but that is what
makes praying hard so hard. Setting your alarm is a stewardship issue! David was determined to circle his day in
prayer. I don’t know if he prayed
through his calendar or wrote down his requests in a prayer journal. But I know that he prayed with specificity
and consistency. And that is what
drawing prayer circles is all about.
Mark
Batterson-Circle Maker
