It’s a common occurrence to get a song stuck in one’s head. Happens to me ALL the time. The usual “culprit” is a song from the Sunday service, something I just heard on the radio, or even something from a commercial.
So, I was a bit baffled by why this title song was stuck in my head during my morning walk with the girls. I hadn’t listened to anything in the past few days where this song would have been featured.
If you need a quick reminder of this song from the 60s (or if you’ve never heard it), you can check it out here.
The phrases that were stuck in my head were these:
“The moment I wake up,
Before I put on my makeup,
I say a little prayer for you.”
Not long after it became stuck, and I was struggling to identify the source, God gently asked me, “What’s your first thought when you wake up in the morning?”
Oh my! This was to be the blog post topic I was hoping to get on the walk!? Well, since we had about a mile to go on the walk, I thought I might as well face the music (intentional pun) and see just where this question would take me. And if I might take you all along with me!
First of all, I think we each individually need to replace the phrase, “Before I put on my makeup,” with whatever we usually do the moment we wake up.
For me, it starts with a battle of wills – mine against the dogs. Of course, the dogs sleep with me; is that really even a question?
As soon as they have some sense that I might be waking up, despite my best efforts or the pre-dawn hour, they are both wide awake and literally jumping on my head. I’ve made some feeble attempts to correct this behavior, but let’s be honest – no one or nothing is ever more excited to see me than these girls in the morning! So, I roll with it.
And then, I roll out of bed. The first thing I do after throwing on some non-PJ clothes and using the bathroom is letting the girls out to do their own “bathroom” routine.
How easy would it be for me to interrupt all of that with some prayer time? Didn’t seem very feasible to me unless my only prayer was asking God to stop this wild canine attack. Besides, in 30 minutes or so, I’ll be reading my devotions and having my usual prayer time.
So, that must not be where this is headed.
Then I “heard” the message, loud and clear.
“What is one little prayer you can pray as soon as you’re awake?”
Could I start my mornings with one request or praise to God? How might that change the course of my day? How many people or circumstances might I pray over in the course of a month? If I listened well to God, would he give me my own personal prayer for the day?
The more I thought about this simple idea, the more excited I got. This wouldn’t replace any longer prayer times later in the day, but it would start each day immediately in a conversation with Almighty God.
Not only could it change my perspective for the day, but more importantly, how might these quick, “popcorn” prayers affect the people or the circumstances I was praying for? Especially if my “prologue” prayer was asking God’s Spirit to direct my “little prayer.”
I started to think about the kinds of prayers I could send off in a few short moments before I rolled out of bed.
- Someone facing surgery that day
- Someone recovering from surgery that day
- A relationship that’s become difficult
- A “weather” request – “please send rain, please stop the rain”
- A church leader
- A fractured friendship
- Someone who needs to know the Lord
- A challenge in my own life
- That my girls would behave at Daycamp!
The possibilities are endless!
Maybe you choose to start the day strictly with a prayer of gratitude. Maybe it’s a prayer for sanctification in an area you’ve been struggling with. Or focus on a national/global issue. Maybe it’s protection from “natural” disasters. It’s up to you and God where you go with this.
This idea hit me this morning and I’m writing this in the afternoon of the same day. So, I haven’t even had one new morning to try it! By the time you read this, I will have had three.
But I’d rather not even make my results an important part of this. Each of us has a unique relationship with God – or perhaps no relationship at all. What will he do in your heart and your life and in the world around you with your individual “little prayers?”
I may never know that outcome fully, but perhaps one day God will let me see.
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door
and pray to your Father who is in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:6
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