Concerning Prayer

Thought for the Day: In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3
Upon reading the above scripture I immediately remembered three key points to include in my daily prayer life. This one verse instructs when communing with God, do so: 1) every day, preferably in the morning; 2) consciously lay our requests before the Lord and 3) wait in expectation for an answer. How many individuals actually lay requests before the Lord every morning and wait in expectation for an answer? Lets break down these instructions into smaller bites for consumption. Every morning cant be interpreted any other way. We are to start the day with a conversation with our Creator. This point can be discussed at length due to time constraints with morning routines; however, this is the best approach; consult with the Lord first thing in the morning. God wants to hear from us and He is waiting, regardless of the time of day, but for us to be the maximum benefactors of Gods blessings and his guidance, we should consult with him at the crack of dawn! Often I have sat in the early morning hours and prayed that God would order my day, especially when theres much to be accomplished and I long for a prosperous day. When I seek an audience with God early in my day, He enters my schedule enabling me to have a calmer, more advantageous day. The next part of the scripture reminds us to lay down our requests. Lay down? Now thats interesting terminology. Laying down anything is very difficult for me. Why? Because I believe I do it better than anyone else, period. This scripture reminds me that Im not the pinnacle upon which life depends and submission (another difficult term) of my plans to Gods scheduled plans is the objective. Remember the hymn, take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there? This procedure necessitates practice every prayer we pray. Without demanding, suggesting or outlining our agendas, we must lay our requests before the Lord and implore, God, not my will but yours be done. In conclusion, we should wait in expectation. Another operative word for an impatient person! I guess that why the book of James is one of my favorite books of scripture as he talks about persevering through all situations of life. Perseverance must finish its work

so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2 And, Job,
how he endured and persevered through his trials is amazing to me. How are we to wait? We are to be expecting an answer to our requests. Expectation. God will answer, but we

need to be ready for the answer. It might not be exactly what we desire, but it is for our maturity, so that we might be complete in our spiritual lives, not lacking anything according to James. God desires to hear from his children. He wants us to know how simple talking with him can be. He just asks that we come first thing in the morning so he might bless our entire day from its inception; laying down those burdens before they get even heavier; requesting his guidance and waiting patiently for His direction. He will give us the grace to accept the outcome. Sounds like a plan, dont you think?

Thank you, Lord, for constantly teaching us through scripture how to be the best we can be and live life abundantly. Lord, you instruct us how easy it is to talk with you and I pray more souls will come to you in faith. Help us to remember to seek your face each morning as we lay our burdens down and wait expectantly for an answer. In Jesus name, Amen.