Reading: Psalm 95:1-7

Verse 6: “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our maker.”

Psalm 95 is an invitation to sing and shout, to offer thanksgiving and praise to the Lord our God. The psalmist encourages us to take time to connect with our God, the one who formed and is a part of all of creation. In verse 6 we read, “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our maker.” To me, this passage calls us to prayer. Prayer is the act of spending personal, intimate, intentional time with God. We can and should ‘pray on the fly’ – short prayers for the one in the ambulance, quick prayers for the parent struggling with a child, a fast shout-out for the person whose name pops into your mind. But to cultivate our relationship with God, it requires a deeper, more intense time of prayer.

Our relationship with God is like all of our relationships. If all we ever share with a person is a passing ‘Hello’ at the start of the work day, then that relationship will never go beyond the surface level of ‘acquaintance.’ Some treat God this way all the time. All of us can, actually, at times – when life gets overly busy or really stressed. This is why a consistent, highly prioritized prayer practice is essential to our faith and to our relationship with God. If it is haphazard – in the morning one day, at night a couple days, on the ride to work one day – then it is so much easier to ‘forget’ or to simply let it slip for a day. Or two. Or ten.

When my kids were young – 25 or so years ago – I began the habit of rising early to carve out quiet time with God. It was not easy. It was hard. Yet whether at home or on a mission trip or on vacation, whether healthy or sick, my early morning discipline is something I’ve held fast to. It has become essential to both my daily living and in keeping me closely connected to the Lord. One of two questions for you: What is your prayer discipline? Or… How and when will you develop a daily prayer discipline?

Prayer: Lord God, it is hard to imagine life and faith without our morning quiet time. It feels to me like water or air – something I couldn’t live without. Thank you for this gift of intimacy, honesty, connection. Amen.