How To Establish An Early Morning Prayer Time

Morning prayer time is a beautiful opportunity to commune with God each day. It allows us not only to ask Him for mercy, strength, and wisdom; but also to admit any wrongdoings from yesterday so that we may have a clear conscience before God.

Your morning prayer time can last as long as you need it or as time allows. However, many find it most effective when done soon after waking up. The mornings allow us to start the day off in the proper state of mind and remove the danger of being too tired or busy as the day continues.

Consider this time to reflect on your day ahead and ask for guidance. Use this time to list the blessings in your life. Check out these suggestions if you have trouble following a predictable morning routine. Over time you’ll find your morning prayer time can be a profoundly enriching experience.

Prayer First Thing In the Morning

God wants to hear from all his children and help them with their needs. There is no specific formula for how to pray, but here are a few tips to get you started:

Take a moment to quiet your mind and focus on God. It helps to close your eyes and pray in a comfortable position.
Pray from the heart. Be honest with God about your needs and express your feelings openly.
Be specific in your requests. The more specific you are, the easier it will be for God to answer your prayer.
Have faith that God will answer your prayer. He always hears us, and He wants what is best for us.
Finally, thank God for His love and care. Even if you don’t get an immediate answer to your prayer, know that God is always listening and will never stop loving you.

Recommended Resource: Christian Gratitude & Prayer Journal

Here is a skeleton of sample prayers you can use as a template until the words flow freely.

thanking God for the new day

“Dear God, thank you for this new day before me. Thank you for the sun that is shining and the birds that are singing. Thank you for my health and my family. Thank you for all the good things in my life.”

As you pray, take a moment to think about everything you are thankful for. Taking the time to praise God this way will make you feel closer to Him and help you see all the good things He has given you.

seeking guidance and strength for the day ahead

“I pray for guidance and strength. I pray for the courage to follow my heart. And I pray for the wisdom to make the right choices.”

Sometimes my prayers are long and complicated and are just fragmented ideas. Other times they are simple and to the point.

But always, they are honest. And always, from the heart. When I pray, I am not trying to impress anyone or anything. I am simply talking to God, asking for help and guidance. Because I know no matter what happens during the day, God is with me.

confessing sins and asking for forgiveness

Acknowledge your sins and ask for His forgiveness. Thank Him for His love and mercy. Ask Him to help you turn away from your sinful ways and to live a life that is pleasing to Him. Be sincere in your desire to change and be willing to follow His will for your life.

Prayer is essential in confession and forgiveness, but it is only the first step. You must also take action to change your ways. True repentance leads to a changed life.

Praising God for who He is

One of the best ways to praise God is to pray to Him about how wonderful He is. List all the adjectives you can think of that describe Him.

For inspiration, look through the Psalms. The Psalms are full of proclaiming His wonders.

interceding on behalf of others

When we intercede, we stand in the gap between God and another person or situation. We are pleading with God on behalf of others, asking Him to hear and answer our prayers. There are many ways to intercede, but using the foundation of prayer is especially powerful.

As we pray for others, we can intercede by proclaiming God’s truth, declaring His promises, and giving thanks for His goodness. We can also intercede by interceding in agreement with other believers. When we agree, our prayers are powerful and effective.

As we intercede for others, we are reminded that God hears our prayers, and He is working out His perfect plan for those we are interceding for. We can trust that He is faithful to answer our prayers according to His will and for His glory.

petitioning God for specific needs

You can pray for anything you need, whether big or small. God loves you and loves to hear you talk to Him. He cares about the big things and the little things in your life. So bring it all to Him.

Beyond Prayer: How to Spend Time with God in the Morning

Journaling

There are so many different ways to journal in your morning prayer time. The important thing is, to be honest with yourself and with God.

If unsure where to begin, you can start by setting a specific intention for your journaling. This might be something like “I will journal for five minutes” or “I will write about my gratitude today.” Once you have set your intention, take a few deep breaths and begin writing. Let your thoughts and feelings flow freely onto the page without judging or censoring yourself. Then, if your mind wanders, refocus on your intention and continue writing.

You may find it helpful to journal about your fears and worries, as well as your hopes and dreams. You can also use journaling to record your daily prayers and track your spiritual growth over time. Whatever approach you take, make sure that journaling is an opportunity to deepen your relationship with God.

Reading Your Bible

If you don’t have a plan before opening our Bible, I encourage you to think of one.

Here are a few tips for how to read your Bible in your morning quiet time:

Choose a translation that you will understand. It’s easy to do this now because you can open up YouVersion or Bible Gateway and check out what translations you like the best. Once you find one you can understand, buy an actual book instead of going online. This helps you put aside distractions.
Start with a specific goal in mind. Whether you’re looking for guidance on a particular issue or want to understand Scripture as a whole better, having a specific goal will help you stay focused as you read. Opening your Bible to a random page rarely works; if it does once, it can’t sustain your need to hear from your Savior. A couple of great plans are She Reads Truth or First Five. I love reading through the Bible using Bible Recap.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If there’s something you don’t understand, jot it down and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the meaning to you throughout your day.

Devotional

There are excellent devotionals available. My favorite is the Jesus Calling books. However, reading a two-minute devotional is not a substitute for reading the Bible.

When reading a devotional, you’re reading what someone else thinks God’s word applied to their life looks like. When you read the Bible, God speaks directly to you through his Holy Spirit.

Listening to God

Make sure you take time to sit in the quiet and listen. God often whispers, and when we’re so busy checking things off a list and constantly having our phones or music at our side, we can miss His voice.

Stop to think how amazing it is that the King of the universe wants to talk to YOU! To ME!

Even 60 seconds of sitting in God’s love with open hands encourages two-way communication with our Heavenly Father.

Conclusion:

If you don’t have a morning quiet time yet, I encourage you to start one. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate or overly spiritual. Just find a few minutes each morning to spend with God and see what happens in your life.

You may want to try using a prayer journal like the Single Mom Prayer Journal we created. This will help you focus your thoughts and connect with God during quiet time. Whatever you do, make sure that you take some time for yourself each day to refuel and connect with the One who loves you best.