Before Dawn -- Hope

Christine Wyrtzen Devotional:

BEFORE THE DAY BEGINS

I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.  Psalm 119:147

I used to wait until I was in trouble before asking God for help.  When everything was in shambles, I would then hope in God's Word and God's power to intervene.  A relationship gone awry?  Pray.  A meeting at church go badly?  Pray.  Someone in my family get sick?  Time to pray.

David is not that foolish.  He rises before dawn, before any daily activity, and commits every step he's going to take to prayer.  He knows that prayer will often prevent problems from surfacing.  Often, the crisis I end up praying for wouldn't have escalated if there had been prayer before my day started.

• I know myself pretty well and as I anticipate my upcoming day, I can see where I might struggle and fall into temptation.  I take that to prayer in the early morning hours and seek God's help.
• I know my family pretty well and can see where they might also succumb to pitfalls because of present circumstances.  I take that to prayer before dawn and insert their names in scripture and read the Word out loud on their behalf.  The Word saves.
• I know the people with whom I work, fellowship, and serve with at church.  In anticipation of meetings I attend, I can discern trouble spots.  I take the meeting to prayer before the day begins and bind the enemy's sure involvement.  There will be defeat without a battle plan to thwart his efforts.

God's children were never meant to live on the defensive.  We often wait until the arrows come.  We are stricken; we lay wounded and then cry out to God for healing.  We rarely consider that we could have lived on the offensive, in prayer, before the begin of that day.

We are meant to live street-smart, anticipating where the danger lies ahead of time and wield the sword of the Word in prayer to bring God's kingdom to every situation we will face.  The victory of Calvary must be enforced and that begins and ends on my knees.

While it is night, my battle cry will be heard, Lord.  I am your watchman.  Amen