How do your days typically start?
If you’re like most people, you probably have a fairly set routine. Something like washing your face, brushing your teeth, combing your hair, getting dressed and eating breakfast. Maybe not in that exact order. And maybe you skip breakfast or pick it up on the drive to work.
Most days, you probably have little time for much else. But sometimes just praying a single word in the morning can transform the direction of your day. One word. What could be simpler? These one-word prayers that make a great start to any day:
1) Thanks
I confess: I often start my day reluctantly. In a fog. With a bad attitude. My mood changes, however, when the day begins with “thanks.” Thanks for a good night’s sleep. Thanks for hot water. Thanks for indoor plumbing (ever lived without it?). Thanks for toothpaste. Thanks for clothes to wear, food to eat and coffee to drink, hallelujah, amen!
2) Come
Ancient Israel’s King David prayed, “Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me” (Psalm 22:19, NIV). We don’t need to pray this because God is far, but because we often need reminders of His presence. “Come” reminds us of our need, of His willing presence, of available strength and help.
3) Lead
Those who pray the Lord’s Prayer ask for God to “lead us,” though most rush right into the next phrase: “not into temptation.” I like to insert a pause between the phrases so as to ask, first, for God’s leading and guiding in my life, and then for His help in avoiding and turning from temptation. Often all of that can be expressed in the single word: “Lead.”
4) Bless
Some of us say grace at meals, beginning, “Bless us, O Lord…” It’s a good prayer. And a one-word request for blessing is also a great way to begin a day. “Bless.” It’s a great, and thoroughly biblical, way to pray. Pray it for yourself. For your day. And for those around you, for those you meet on your commute, for those you share an office with, for those you pass on the sidewalk and more.
Try any or all of these one-word prayers to start your day, and watch what happens.
