“We must exchange whispers with God before shouts with the world.” –Lysa TerKeurst
The blaring alarm awakens my dreamless sleep and a smile spreads like taffy across my face. Rather than groan at the irksome interruption of my sleep I am thankful:
I slept all night
Pain and paralysis did not wake me at 3 AM as it has many nights
I did not wake in a paralyzed state
My facial muscles are not frozen therefore I can smile
In the darkness, I stretch out my arm and mash the snooze button. Thankful I have mobility, I lie back down and exhale these whispers with God:
“Yes Lord”
“I love you too, Lord”
“Thank you for a restful night and no morning paralysis”
“You are my Jehovah Jireh, my Provider.
“Thank you in a
dvance for what you have already planned for me today.”
Each morning, before my feet hit the floor I exchange a few whispers with God. I will continue our conversation later from my red chair, but for now I need to help get the kids ready for school.
It is vital to my spiritual life to spend my first waking moments giving thanks to God; and to recognize Him as the source of the breath allowing me to wake again.
Yes Lord
I begin each day by simply saying “Yes Lord.” These two words place my heart in open and willing position to receive whatever He deems necessary for the day.
I love you too, Lord
Next, I whisper, “I love your too, Lord.” This is how I end and begin every prayer, recognizing that “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19, NIV)
I thank you for…
Thirdly, I thank the Lord for …it changes each day. Today I thanked the God for sleeping through the night, but it is whatever most is pressing at the time.
You are my…
A few years ago, I read the book “Knowing God by Name” by Mary Kassian. Since then, I’ve began to incorporate the Hebrew name of God that best describes my current circumstance. Jehovah Jireh means God will provide. I know God speaks all human languages, but speaking His language draws me closer to Him.
Thank you in advance
God is always working on our behalf. He knows the end from the beginning. He already knows what we will face today and He has already made provisions when we get there. This is why I include in every prayer these words, “Lord I thank you in advance for what you have
already done for me today.”
There is one more reason I exhale whispers to God before my feet hit the floor, the Enemy. Peering inside the window of my life, my world is relatively quiet. What you cannot see is the constant chatter the Enemy shouts in my head. Like a chattering teeth toy, the Enemy never stops messing with my head. When I whisper to God upon rising each day, it puts my day into perspective and temporarily shuts out the chatter.
Even in a world filled with a constant stream of noise. I am thankful for the One who is our stream peace, living water in the desert places and “it is well with my soul.”
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19, NIV)
“Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” (Isaiah 35:6, NIV)
~April Dawn White
Photos courtesy of Pixabay.and Morguefile.com