Preventive Prayer

We should learn to pray routinely, every day if at all possible. Especially when we pray in the morning, we will find ourselves calmer throughout the day. Praying in the morning allows us to unburden any cares we have. We begin our day with peace, fresh faith and biblical optimism. Even if the obstacles we face today look just like the ones we faced yesterday, we are ready for the challenge because we have put on the whole armor of God. We are ready to meet the day because God has calmed us, assured us, and wrapped His comforting arms around us. We are relying on Him instead of ourselves.

 

It is unrealistic to expect to have abiding calm and peace in our lives if we do not pray. But as we develop a pattern of early-morning prayer, things that used to affect us no longer bother us as much or at all.

 

This is preventive prayer as opposed to crisis prayer. We pray to prevent crises rather than just pray when a crisis arises.

Preventive prayer insulates us from being affected as much by other people’s issues. Prayer enables us to stay calm, to be a voice of reason, to not operate by emotion but by the Word of God. It helps us to make wise decisions rather than emotion-based decisions. Preventive prayer enables us to see past people’s lashing out to their issues. We learn to not take everything personally, but realize that people have issues of their own. We don’t have to make them ours by taking offense.

 

When we bring things to God in prayer that are bothering us, they do not have to weigh heavily on our minds all day. We have more room for good thoughts. We have a greater ability to be God-focused, as opposed to being absorbed in our issues.

Preventive prayer is like taking immune-boosting vitamins on a daily basis to help us stay strong and healthy. Because we put God first in our day, every day, He honors what we do and we build an immunity to spiritual viruses that easily infect people who do not pray except during a crisis.

 

Preventive prayer helps us stay calmer throughout the day. Preventive prayer enables us to clearly see solutions when others only see problems. And, even if we do get overwhelmed, we do not stay that way. We have become so used to God’s peace that we know how to easily obtain it again because spending time with Him on a daily basis has become our norm.

 

I have not always prayed every day, early in the morning. But once I started making it a routine part of my life, I discovered that I never wanted to digress from it. My level of calm increased exponentially. In early morning prayer I find a way to keep my load from getting heavier than I could handle. When I miss a day of early morning prayer, I can tell the difference during the day.

 

How often should we unburden ourselves in God’s presence? As often as we need to! But the best way is to establish a consistent prayer life. This will give you calm before the storm. It will equip you to better face the storm. Your boat might still rock and reel but you won’t get as agitated. You will recover quicker.

Instead of beginning the day fighting your husband and chasing your kids, why not get up when the house is quiet, unburden your heart before God, and allow Him to give you inner rest? At some point in your prayer, ask God, “What kind of person do you want me to be today?”

This is preventative prayer. It is how you build your spiritual immunity.