Awaken The Dawn

AWAKEN THE DAWN!

I wish I could say getting up for early morning prayer gets easier as time passes, but that does not seem to be the case for anyone I know. Those of us who have penciled in early morning prayer as a priority get excited and elated at the time of prayer, but the actual act of rousing from sleep is particularly daunting. It reminds me of the old song, “Oh how I hate to get up in the morning! Oh, how I hate to get out of bed…” The best way to overcome the problem is to make certain arrangements the night before. It really helps me to lay out my clothes and toiletry before going to bed. I have lived most of my life without a clothes valet, but now I have one. If everything is hanging in place and laid out, and you know where you are going and what must be done, it will help you get out of bed. You quickly and effi- ciently move through your morning getting-up routine, dress quickly, and then present yourself before the King. The effort of discipline will reflect throughout your whole day and effect the very way you think. Maintaining the discipline of private prayer, particularly early morning prayer over an extended time, will not only shape your life and ministry in a most profound way, it will stimulate and produce a continuous life of prayer. Let us quickly review Jesus’ prayer life by reading two paragraphs from a favorite book on prayer by Reginald White:

And how He prayed! At His baptism, as He made His full response to the call that had come to Him, He Prayed; in the busy, crowded days in Galilee, ris- ing a great while before day to be undisturbed, He prayed; in the wilderness, snatching another rare opportunity for quiet, He prayed. As He broke the bread for the multitude, and afterwards when some

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