How many mornings have you woke up with a poor mindset? Perhaps, you are dreading something at work or begrudging your alarm clock. One way to turn around these poor morning starts is by training yourself to immediately adopt a godly mindset for the day the moment you wake up.
I woke up today, January 1st, and said out loud, “I greet this year with joy, for I am blessed.” This was a variation on words I’ve been speaking every day for years now. Each morning I start my day with two thoughts in mind. First, I declare “I greet this day with joy for I am blessed.” Second, I pray something to the effect of, “God I pray today that I am about your will and not mine.”
This is my simple and surprisingly effective way of getting my mind in the right place from the start of each day. Paul urged the Colossians to ‘Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” (Col. 2) When you do so you are more spiritually attentive and less stressed.
Benefits of A Morning Declaration
Choosing joy helps you to live above circumstance. The Bible says, “Rejoice in all things, again I say rejoice.” Does that scripture mean that you approve of or are happy about every circumstance in life. I don’t think so. I have found that my simple declaration of “I greet this day with joy” reminds me that joy is often times a choice and not just a response to what’s going on in life. This declaration is a commitment to enter the day focused on one of the fruits of the Spirit rather than something of this world. It’s helped me take hold of joy even during difficult times.
Acknowledging blessings gives you a positive perspective. I know that even in the worst of circumstance God is at work and I am still blessed in amazing ways. This past year was one of the hardest years I’ve personally ever experienced. Our church was financially struggling so I took a voluntary cut back a day a week. We went through a painful family crisis. Also, my father who had Alzheimer’s died in September.
Each of those events was difficult to say the least. Nevertheless, God was so very present even in the midst of hardship. For example, I was able to offer to cut back a day week because a friend asked me to write for her company, The 7 Minute Life. It’s work I love. This win/win situation saved the church money and allowed me to preserve income doing work I enjoy with people I like. What a huge blessing!
Similarly, during our family crisis and my dad’s death, I was surrounded with an overwhelming amount of care. I felt loved and supported in ways I had never experienced before. So, even in deep trials reminding myself of the truth that I am blessed helped me keep from getting sucked into negative thoughts. I am not saying that I didn’t have any. However, in the past I have found myself so burdened with negative thoughts that I slipped into depression. I believe my morning declaration was a tiny but powerful piece in preventing that from happening again.
Surrendering to God’s will for the day helps you have a servant heart. My second declaration is a way of humbling myself before the Lord. I’ll be honest, it’s not always clear to me what God’s will is, but I am hoping that my openness to find it is pleasing to God and that God will graciously meet me in the struggle. My quick prayer about seeking His will for the day reminds me of the following quote by Thomas Merton:
“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”
APPLICATION
You can adopt my declaration or create your own. Either way, I would urge you to come up with just one or two sentences that reflect a godly mindset to use as a morning declaration, so that you can train yourself to start your day focused on things above not earthly things. This simple practice has had a profound effect on my life and I am sure it can in yours as well.
And here is a New Year’s Blessing for you from me.
My Ebook Tips on Prayer is on Sale, until Thursday, January 7, midnight AND I am giving away several super helpful bonuses.
A quick word about the book…
I don’t know any better way to improve your life than to become more deeply connected to God through prayer. I wrote a book a few years ago to help people grow in prayer. This is the book I wish someone had given me to make growing in prayer easy to understand. I spent countless hours on retreats, reading books, and taking workshops to figure out how to meaningfully connect with God through this wonder He has given us called prayer. I’ve distilled what I learned the hard way into an easy to understand system called the 5 Pillars of Life-Changing Prayer.
Anyone can use the step-by-step best practices I outline in this book to have a broader, deeper, and more meaningful relationship with God through prayer.
You save 33% and get bonuses. Here are the details…
For the first week of 2016, I am cutting the price on the 2nd edition of my book, ‘Tips On Prayer The Quickstart Guide to Improving Your Prayer Life’ by 33%. You can get your copy for just $6 until midnight on January 7th.
That’s less than the cost of a movie ticket, but it will enrich you far more than any movie. Plus, I’ve written this to be a reference guide that you can go back to time and time again to improve your prayer life.
HERE IS THE IMPORTANT FINE PRINT
To get your discounted copy, you must do so before midnight, Thursday, January 7th. At that time, the sale page will disappear.
I hope you will take advantage of this quick sale. I have never discounted my book before and don’t know when I will again. This is the smallest investment you can make to find greater peace and joy through prayer.
p.s. I am throwing in some bonuses along with the book, so be sure to click that link and find out what they are.