WAKE UP! Don’t Sleep on Prayer!

No alarm. No one tapped on my shoulder. Just silence and the glowing of my night light. It was 4:30 am, how was I even up? Of course, it’s an amazing time to be up, my most ideal even, but I NEVER get up this early. So, instead of simply starting my morning routine, I closed my eyes and forced myself back to sleep. Then, my alarm blared, and it was 7 am – now I was late. Typically, I wake up anywhere between 5:20 am and 5:45 am every day. I found that the earlier I wake up, the better. I’m always more confident and prepared for the day when I wake up early because of my routine – wake up, devotional, get ready for gym, gym time, eat breakfast, shower, get dressed, and begin my daily to-do list. My mornings just make sense… well, now that it was 7 am, I was BEHIND. I skipped the gym and rushed through my devotional time, giving it the bare minimum rather than true intimacy. I read my daily devotional book, prayed general thank you prayers, and studied one chapter of the Bible – bare minimum, devotional checked off the list, BUT NO INTIMACY WITH GOD.

My day continued on pretty bland. After my bare minimum devotional time, I caught up on texts, checked my email, and scrolled, scrolled, laughed, and scrolled. My scrolling was probably longer than my devotional time if I’m being honest. But after hours, forcing myself to make breakfast and sulking in bed, I had no will for productivity. Nothing in me wanted to do ANYTHING.

Can you spot the issue? We often look over our intimacy with God and water down our devotional time – while still expecting Him to move. See, No. Things don’t work like that. God doesn’t work like that. We do a great disservice to ourselves and an even greater disservice to God when we overlook our daily dependency on Him. There’s not a waking morning when you don’t NEED God. You always need Him. He doesn’t want your bare minimum. He wants your ALL!

Well, as I continued my social media scroll mid-day, it just so happened that every reel on my feed displayed something Christ-like, such as someone praying, showing their Bible study routine, or talking about something God was doing in them. It seemed as though God met me exactly where I was. And after watching a few reels, I locked my phone, leaned back, and closed my eyes. Then I prayed sincerely, “God, what’s wrong with me? Why do I feel like this?” At that moment, I remembered waking up at 4:30 am, and instead of being diligent and pursuing God in devotion, I forced myself back to sleep. There was no seek, no discipline, and no zeal. I believe the Lord woke me up earlier that morning because He wanted to speak to me and desired for us to have communion. Unfortunately, I didn’t carry the same sentiments and thought other things like sleep, convenience, and social media were more important. At that moment, the Holy Spirit spoke to me so clearly –

“If you play with prayer, the enemy will play with you.”

This statement got me thinking. Because how true is that? Often, we make it easy for Satan to mess up our day, take away our focus, and prohibit us from achieving destiny. And this all starts FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. Are you surrendering your day to God?

I don’t mean the regular ole’ devotional time you have out of mere obligation. I’m talking about TRUE INTIMACY here. The one where you pray and wait for God to speak back to you. Or you read the Bible and spend time meditating on the scriptures for deeper insight and revelation. True intimacy cannot be quantified by time, it’s a lifestyle and heart posture. God desires TRUE INTIMACY with you, but many of us have struggled to make time for Him. Or, I can speak for myself, there have been many times I struggled to make time for Him.

I’ve noticed that I truly struggle to spend time with God when my schedule is already all messed up. Like when I wake up late – I’m thrown off, hungry, and a little cranky, too. None of my emotions are drawn to intimacy with God, it’s drawn to whatever my flesh wants to do. But there’s a way around all of this…

I’ve learned a few tips that have helped me spend dedicated time with God and surrender my day to Him. Dependence on God begins with the everyday, not just the big decisions or church attendance.

HOW TO MAKE PRAYER A DAILY PRIORITY:

1. Wake Up Early

   1. By this, I mean really early. I’m talking about 4 am or 5 am early. Now, I haven’t gotten to 4 am yet, like I told you, but I aspire to. When I wake up early, I notice a massive difference in the success of my day. Often, I’m not as distracted mentally and don’t feel the pressure to get everything done, rather, I’m sure that the time I’m awake is dedicated time to God. I’ve made God the beginning of my morning routine!

2. Dedicate the First Hour You’re Awake to God

   1. If you dedicate the first hour to God exclusively, intimacy is inevitable. Additionally, you’ll be less distracted by your responsibilities and the voices constantly flooding our text messages, emails, and timelines.

3. Be Intentional About Your Intimacy with God

   1. Know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it! Are you incorporating a devotional into your communion with God? Will you study a specific verse? Know what you want to do in your devotional time, and always prioritize prayer and Bible study. And most importantly, be intentional about allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you!

4. Give God Room to Speak to You

   1. The Lord is always speaking, and He has great things to say to you if you can be still long enough to listen! What is He saying to you today?

5. Expect God to MOVE

   1. God will move on your behalf if you allow Him to have HIS way. When you pray, pray expectantly, and allow God to do only what He can do in, through, and with you!

I leave you with this Bible verse –

“Let joy be your continual feast. Make your life a prayer. And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks, for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus. Never restrain or put out the fire of the Holy Spirit.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

Prayer is so important, and we must all know how to pray. It’s a daily necessity to seek God’s face no matter what. I pray for you that seeking God’s face will become a daily delight! May you encounter the Lord in a brand new way as you dedicate your mornings to Him. Most importantly, I pray you’ll be best friends with the Holy Spirit and experience deep intimacy with Him. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen!