“10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places”. (Ephesians 6:10-12, NKJV)
Your first breath each morning places you squarely in the center of a spiritual war for your souls. How well you contest this war each day, is dependent on what you do in the first activities of your day. Do you rush through your morning routine from one activity to the next on autopilot or do you spend time connecting with the Source of your existence? The evil forces that are bent on stealing your joy and destroying your life are happy when they are able to distract your focus to everything else but God.
When you rush mindlessly through your mornings the rest of the day tends to be a painful chore to endure. This is because you start the day with the devil having the upper hand but when you are intentional about spending time with God, you find fuel that energizes you in all your decisions and activities throughout the day. You are less frustrated, less confrontational, less bothered by other people’s actions and less stressed.
Your quiet time with God each morning “Powers You Up” to face expected and unexpected situations throughout the day. It refreshes your mind, rejuvenates your spirit, revitalizes your body, guides your paths and protects you from the darts of the evil one.
If you have limited time for this “Power-up”, set a timer for the amount of time you have and limit the length of the Bible passage, e.g. read a verse or two instead of a whole chapter.
Your daily Power-up should include:
- Praise to God for who He is.
- Emptying your soul and mind of all negativity, forgiving others and yourself, and asking God’s forgiveness for your wrongdoing.
- Gratitude to God for His various blessings, e.g. family, health, friends, an income and protection.
- Asking God to open your eyes, hearts, souls and minds to what He wants to say to you through the Scriptures.
- Reading a Bible passage and recording what:
- God is saying to you through this passage.
- He wants you to do as a result of reading this passage.
- You decide you will do.
- Prayers for others and yourself.
- Prayers for direction and protection for today and the days ahead.
- Being still before God and listening for a response from Him.
Do not rush through this “Power-up” exercise. Be focused on connecting with God, allowing Him to give you that spiritual food you need to take you through the day. You will find that this is your most important activity for the day. Always spend the time to “Power-up” each morning and you will find yourself being less exhausted at the end of your day. Be like Jesus, “Power-up” with God before you face the day. “ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35, NIV)