For me there is one spiritual mass I must fly over daily in order to catch the Spirit: morning prayer. My morning prayer isn’t long. It takes about fifteen minutes. But it is a sacrament of my sanctification. I set aside a quarter of an hour at the beginning of each day in order to set the whole day apart for the Lord. In turn, the Spirit sets me apart for the work of the ministry and sets me on the right path for a day full of direction and power. […]
Morning prayer is a fusion: prayer led by Bible reading, and Bible reading led by prayer. We pray the Scriptures, they pray in us and through us. The Scriptures inspire petition, confession, “groans too deep for words,” personal reflection, praise, joy and deep confidence to face the rest of the day. […]
Neglect of morning prayer isn’t caused by distractions. Distractibility is a symptom of a deep infection. The infection in me is my desire not to be set apart for ministry, not to be directed by the Spirit, not to be empowered to do ministry. It is, most specifically, my desire to swerve from the Way of the Cross, to set myself apart, to set my own agenda and to gather power from other sources. My refusal to do morning prayer is the Old Adam inside me, kicking against the sanctifying work of the Word and the Spirit.