How Morning Prayer Primes the Pump

Sometimes my morning prayer time is rich. But at other times it feels like I'm just going through the motions.

This is a post in praise of just going through the motions.

Why? Well, for the usual reasons: faithfulness, building good habits, doing-the-right-thing-even-though-you-don't-feel-like-it, and, oh yes of course, obedience. Because it doesn't become a false or bad act just because you can't get your heart in sync with your head every time.

But here's my new reason: because even fitful, floppy, funky morning prayer primes the pump.

If I pray faithfully through the office in the morning, going down my prayer list for that day and holding myself, my family, and my friends before the Lord . . . then it's easier to pray the whole rest of the day through.

When I've once lifted up my children to the Lord in the morning, even if it was hard and I didn't really want to sit there and talk to Him about them, I find that the rest of the day? Prayers and petitions on their behalf come easily to my lips.

The pump is primed.

And often those later-in-the-day prayers are so much more heartfelt, more fruitful, more insightful than the grudging morning office I offered.

But I don't think I would have gotten to the more easy, natural, sweet conversation with the Lord unless I'd stuck to it early in the day when I was tired and grumpy.


Honestly, it's just like a human relationship, isn't it?


Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell