This order and
discipline must be sought and found in the morning prayer. It will stand the
test at work. Prayer offered in early morning is decisive for the day. The
wasted time we are ashamed of, the temptations we succumb to, the weakness and discouragement
in our work, the disorder and lack of discipline in our thinking and in our
dealings with other people․all these very frequently have their cause in
our neglect of morning prayer. The ordering and scheduling of our time will
become more secure when it comes from prayer.
Biblical Wisdom
In the morning, while it
was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he
prayed. Mark
1:35
Questions to Ponder
· In what ways might
“prayer offered in the morning” be “decisive for the day”?
· Do you agree that many
of the problems we encounter have “their cause in our neglect of morning
prayer”? Why, or why not?
· How can prayer lead to
the “ordering and scheduling of our time”?
Psalm Fragment
Give ear to my words,
O Lord; give heed to my sighing Listen to the sound
of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray. O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch. Psalm
5:1-3
Journal Reflections
·
Write about how you
usually spend your mornings. What do you do before work or school?
·
Are you satisfied with
the way you spend your mornings? If not, how would you like to spend your
mornings?
·
How is prayer presently
a part of your morning? Any changes you would like to make?
Prayer for Today
Lord, show me a time in
the morning when I can listen to you for the day ahead and when I can talk to
you for the day ahead.
40-Day Journey with
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Copyright © 2007 Augsburg Books, imprint of Augsburg Fortress.
