Pursuing the Presence: A Rudder Prayer

Your first thoughts.

They set a precedent. The way you spend your first hour charts the course of the rest of your day.

Your first thoughts are like a rudder for the course of your day.

Start the day on your smartphone? You will likely be chained to it every spare second.

Spend the first hour worrying about work or school? You'll find yourself preoccupied with those tasks until you go to bed for the night.

Begin your morning seeking God? You'll find Him...and you'll see Him more in every single moment.

Seek Jesus, and He will take you where He wants you to go.

Let the words of this prayer act as a rudder, steering the direction of your day.

Scripture

"Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    may I never forget the good things he does for me."

 Psalm 103:1-2 (NLT)

Prayer from John Baillie

Eternal Father of my soul, let my first thought today be of You, let my first impulse be to worship You, let my first speech be Your name, let my first action be to kneel before You in prayer.

For Your perfect wisdom and perfect goodness:

For the love with which You love mankind:

For the love with which You love me:

For the great and mysterious opportunity of my life:

For the indwelling of Your Spirit in my heart:

I praise and Worship You, O Lord.  Yet let me not, when this morning prayer is said, think my worship ended and spend the day in forgetfulness of You.  Rather from these moments of quietness let light go forth, and joy, and power, that will remain with me through all the hours of the day;

Keeping me chaste in thought:

Keeping me temperate and truthful in speech:

Keeping me faithful and diligent in my work:

Keeping me humble in my estimation of myself:

Keeping me honorable and generous in my dealings with others:

Keeping me loyal to every hallowed memory of the past:

Keeping me mindful of my eternal destiny as a child of Yours.  

Through Jesus Christ my Lord, 

Amen

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Evan Smith

is a Pastor currently living in Phoenix, AZ. He majored in New Testament Studies at Ozark Christian College. Born and raised in Texas, he grew up the third-born of 7 kids and loved (almost) every minute of it! He is happily married to his high school sweetheart, Breanna, and has two wonderful kids, Hannah Joy and Peter. More than anything, Evan wants to be a man who is marked by a hunger for God.

“The God who came, still comes. The God who spoke, still speaks.”

Evan's Website