Morning Grace

Mornings in the Meade household are full of activity.  Callie Grace has an internal alarm clock that wakes her up no later than 6:30am, and she wakes up ready to take on the world.  Justus is usually awake by 5am, and he and I sit in the living room, mommy trying to wake up and Justus smiling at mommy as if trying to encourage her in this season of little sleep.  When Callie Grace wakes up, we get out the bible and read a chapter.  We are currently in Philippians.  She is so patient and will sit and listen without a sound!  We then sing a hymn, and have our prayer.  Callie folds her hands at the beginning of the prayer, and says “mamen” at the end of the prayer.  This is our morning routine that hardly ever differs.  The rest of the day I cannot say the same for!  However, I am so thankful for these mornings, because I’ve never liked mornings before.  Mornings are the time that, for whatever reason, I’m more aware of all of my failures and fears.  It’s often been the time I feel the farthest away from God, which seems so different from what most people experience.  I’ve always struggled with the discipline of morning devotions, but when the spiritual growth of my children is at stake, I find it much easier to sacrifice the time I would be just staring rather blankly at the TV.

My focus right now is on my prayer life, which has been sadly lacking.  I’ve always had a difficult time staying focused during my prayers, my mind often drifting to other thoughts and plans for the day.  in Donald Whitney’s book, Simplify Your Spiritual Life, he has a chapter on praying the prayer of others, and he recommends the book The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. I can easily say that this book has greatly helped my prayer life!  There are prayers for almost every topic that we encounter in our lives.  The prayer that has become so special to me is called Morning Needs.  It’s rather long, but I feel the need to share this wonderful prayer that aids me in getting my day started with the grace and clarity that I need.  The author of this prayer is not cited in the book.

O God, the Author of all good,
I come to thee for the grace another day will require
for it’s duties and events.
I step out into a wicked world,
I carry about with me an evil heart,
I know that without thee I can do nothing,
that everything with which I shall be concerned,
however harmless in itself,
may prove an occasion of sin or folly,
unless I am kept by Thy power.
Hold thou me up and I shall be safe.
Preserve my understanding for subtilty of error,
my affections from love of idols,
my character from stain of vice,
my profession from every form of evil.
May I engage in nothing in which I cannot implore they blessing,
and in which I cannot invite thy inspection.
Prosper me in all lawful undertakings,
or prepare me for disappointments;
Give me neither poverty or riches;
Feed me with food convenient for me,
lest I be full and deny thee
and say, Who is the Lord?
or be poor and steal, and take thy name in vain.
May every creature be made good to me by prayer and they will;
Teach me how to use the world, and not abuse it,
to improve my talents,
to redeem my time,
to walk in wisdom toward those without,
and in kindness to those within,
to do good to all men,
and especially my fellow Christians.
And to Thee be the glory.