Wednesday, May 4

Psalm 5:6

In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

Psalm 4:8

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone,… O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

When I was little, like many children, I used to imagine that a horrible monster lived under my bed. This monster only lived there at night – and it had long tentacle-like arms – and I imagined that this creature would try to grab my legs as I approached my bed. So, my defense was to run and leap from as far away from my bed as possible, thus eluding those tentacles by traveling the last few feet to my bed through the air! Then I would lay there and either wait for my Mom or Dad to come and pray with me before falling asleep – which they almost always did. Then I would fall asleep, unafraid of the monster under my bed - at least until the next night!

As I mentioned in yesterdays “10 Minutes with God,” my childhood days were “book-ended” by prayer. My parents prayed with us before we headed out to school; and they prayed with us before we went to sleep at night. The Psalms suggest that the ancient people of God practiced the same thing:

Psalm 5:6

In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

Psalm 4:8

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone,… O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

If you have children still living at home, and you are wondering how to strengthen your “faith @ home” - this practice of “book-ending” their days with prayer would be a great way to start! Just take 30 seconds together before they leave to catch the bus or jump into the car pool; thank God for a new day and ask for his guidance and blessing for your children throughout the day. At first your children might look at you kind of funny – but if you stick with it – you will notice that they begin to expect that “morning prayer.” And in the evening – try developing a gentle habit of “bedtime prayer.” Again, a simple 30 second prayer thanking God for the day, asking for a good night’s rest, and perhaps thanking God for the unique cluster of gifts and blessings he has placed in that particular child – is enough to begin building a kind of “spiritual DNA” in your home.

Notice that the Psalms teach us that when we begin our days with prayer – we enter that day with expectation – and when we end the day with prayer – we sleep in peace. Doesn’t that sound good!?

Brian Coffey