I am a morning person and I often feel most alive in the first few hours of a day - most optimistic and also most clear minded. I should also say that sleep has a lot to do with this. I am grateful because I generally sleep well and I usually wake up feeling rested and ready to for a new day.
I particularly like the quiet of the morning as a time to meet with God, to think about His goodness, to read the scriptures and to pray. In so doing, I embrace the rhythms of newness as the cycle of creation offers a new day as God has made it.
From the time I was a kid, the little bit of church going that I did was in the Episcopal church which was liturgical and mostly from the Prayer Book. While I usually prefer other styles of worship, one thing the liturgical tradition impressed upon me was the idea of prayers that were offered for various occasions. Couple that with the fact that at a recent staff meeting our staff discussed Psalm 90 and the idea of "numbering our days," implying each one of them is special and unique. This prompted a discussion about a "Prayer for the Morning" - an expression to God that could set our hearts and minds with Him as we enter this new and unique day. Each day of course is unique, it has never been before, and it will never be again. Our staff asked me if I would try to write a prayer like this - so here it is:
Good morning gracious and beautiful God.
With the sun I rise to you, with creation I praise you, with the saints I adore you.
Thank you for the gift of sleep and the arrival of this new day.
You alone are God; my Lord and my forgiver.
Heavenly Father, help me move through this day with the wonder of a child;
with my heart open to both give and receive love.
Fill me with your Spirit so that I am communing with you throughout the day;
moment by moment and breath by breath.
Grant me the faith to face challenges, the character to be true, the grace to forgive.
And when the sun seeks the western horizon and this day's end draws near,
help me rest in the knowledge that you are my life,
and all that I am is secure through Jesus Christ. Amen