Seven Minutes Every Morning
How does your day begin? With a clear focus on
what you want to accomplish this day . . . or rather, are things
cloudy, busy, hurried, nervous? Many times how you start the day seems
to determine how the remainder of the day goes. So it is essential to
have a good beginning.
Some people regularly begin each morning
by spending a short time alone with God. This starts the day with a
much clearer perspective of what life is all about.
It starts
the day with high thoughts, with positive thoughts. These people tend
to move through the day more smoothly, confidently, and with more
gentleness toward others. A person like this is unique, different.
If
this practice isn't a regular part of your life, a good way to start is
to take just seven minutes to be alone with God. Close the door, take
the phone off the hook and share these few minutes with the Lord.
The
Bible gives good precedence for this. Psalm 5:3 (Amplified) says, "In
the morning You hear my voice, O Lord: In the morning I prepare a
prayer for You, and watch and wait for You to speak to my heart."
Here
is a little guide on how to spend those seven minutes, a guide which
you may want to alter or enlarge as time goes on. This is not a ritual;
it is merely a help for beginning something new.
Take the first
half-minute to prepare your heart and mind for this encounter with God.
Relax. Think about who God really is. Clear up any matters that are
bothering your conscience. Confess sin.
Then take four minutes
for reading the Bible. Remember, this is God actually speaking. Just
read a little bit and think on what you've read. Think how you can
apply the verses to your actions this day.
Now you have two and
half minutes left to speak to God in prayer. Let this be spontaneous.
Unburden some things, thank Him, praise Him, share your innermost
thoughts with Him.
These seven minutes can change your life.
Christ used this morning time. Mark 1:35 says, "And in the morning, a
great while before day, He rose and went out to a lonely place, and
there He prayed."
Condensed from Seven Minutes With God, a Navigator brochure.
NavPress also has a new 7-Minute Bible, using this concept.
