An old country preacher from Mississippi prayed this prayer every morning: “Lord, give thy servant this morning the eyes of the eagle and the wisdom of the owl. Illuminate my brow with the sunshine of heaven. Posses my mind with love for people, turpentine my imagination, grease my lips, electrify my brain with the lightning of your word. Fill me plumb full of the dynamite of thy glory. Lord, anoint me all over with the kerosene of salvation, and set me on fire.”

How do you start your day?

What is your morning ritual?

Most people have a pattern that they live by when it comes to their daily routines. We all tend to get stuck in the rut of these routines until we don’t even have to think about it. We brush our teeth the same way, get a shower the same way, do our hair the same way, dress ourselves the same way, drive to work the same way, eat the same things, etc…

How you start your day will determine how prepared you are for it. If you start you day running behind you will usually find yourself trying to catch up most of the day. If you start your day with negativity it seems to follow you most of the day. However, when we start our day off right it can set the tone for the entire day. King David knew how to start his day off right. Because of a great start it set his heart in the right place for whatever would come. The Bible is clear about how we should start our day, check out these examples…

Psalm 59:16

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. 

1 Chronicles 23:20

They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening

Psalm 5:3

O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

Mark 1:35

O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

Starting your day off right will give you the strength and mindset you will need to accomplish all that God has for you. It is hard to recover from a bad start (though it can be done). Instead of allowing life to determine what happens to us in the morning we need to be intentional about starting it the way we want. Here are a few tips to get your day started right…

1. Wake Up A Little Earlier

Don’t hit the snooze button until the last possible minute to get up. Wake up a little earlier to give yourself time to get your body and spirit lined up. Spend the extra time in the morning talking to God, working on a project, reading, worshiping, with your family, thinking, etc… Just waking up a half hour or an hour earlier could change everything about your day. The most important thing to avoid is being rushed and behind before you even get started.

2. Be Intentional

Don’t let the morning just happen, get a plan for what you are going to do. The night before is a great time to decide what you are going to do in the morning. The more intentional you are the more you will get out of your morning. If you have a game plan you are more likely to do it rather than getting distracted by life.

3. Whatever You Do DON’T WATCH THE NEWS!

The last thing you need to do when you wake up is to fill your mind with negative news like CNN (Constant Negative News). Don’t let the first thing you turn to be stories about murder, corruption, disease, scandals, etc… these things only fill you with the wrong mindset. Never give your first part of the day to things that will get your blood pressure boiling or your fear stirred up.

4. Tithe Your Day

The word of God talks about tithing 10% of our income to the local church. This is a must if we want God to bless the rest of our income. But what about tithing our day? The first fruits of our time. Give God the first 10% so to speak of your day. Let Him get your heart and attention right out of bed. Make it a point to start your day off committing it to God and honoring Him. I guarantee you will find the rest of your day blessed.

5. Expect Great Things

Start your day off with expectancy. Get your faith stirred in the morning so you are able to step out when God bring opportunity during the day. Fan the flame of your faith. Believe that each day is God’s gift. Don’t expect a hum-drum day, expect a faith-filled day that the Lord has made. Rejoice in your day, don’t dread the day. God tends to meet us at the level of our expectation. So raise your expectations for the day by allowing faith to fill your heart, mind, soul, and strength.