I find this prayer helps me to focus my thoughts on God, to invite Him into my whole being and allow Him to take charge of my quiet time with Him.

Next, I read a chapter of my Bible (regardless of the size). Some mornings, my quiet time takes me a half an hour, and some it takes quite a bit longer, but that is my commitment. I write down the verse that the Lord brings to me, and take it with me through the day. I have a special book that I write down the Bible verses in, and it’s like a log of all the verses that God has given me.

Afterwards, I pray using the following ACTS prayer model:~

Adoration:Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and I do exalt you as head above all.

Confession: Lord, forgive me for…

Thanksgiving: Father God, I do thank you that You’re constantly here for us and with us, and thank you for your constant provision over us.

Supplication – (intercessory prayer for others): Heavenly Father, I do ask that you watch over…

Just as an example, this is the prayer of supplication that I prayed today:~
I pray for our family and friends first, Germany’s homeschoolers, our troops fighting overseas, our country’s leaders, our hospitals, for Israel, for an end to the persecution of Christians worldwide, but in particular in Uzbekistan, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea and China. I pray that God will put an end to the removal of prayer bands in China, and that He will help many more people in China to come to know and love Him, and that there will be a Bible waiting and readily accessible for each one of them. I also pray that He will guide the North Korean refugees safely into a new country that they can call home.

At the end of my prayer, I pray that God will walk with me through the day, guiding my steps, my thoughts and my intentions.

I also pray that future generations of our family will walk with God and in His ways; that our children’s employment prospects will be guided by God, and that He will bless their walk with Him; and that their future spouses will be good, kind Christian people who’ll also walk in His ways.

Do I have it all together – definitely not (only God does), but by asking God to guide my day helps me to keep things in perspective? I also find that having my quiet time with the Lord first thing in the morning helps to avoid my day going pear-shaped, which it does very quickly without that special time with Him. It also helps me to focus on God, rather than the everyday issues that happen around us.

Am I human, and do I make mistakes? Yes, but being a Christian means that I’m forgiven for my sins if I acknowledge them, say sorry to God and turn from my sin. The Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the cross restored fellowship between God and us without the need for a blood sacrifice, as He was the blood sacrifice, dying once for all.

A friend of ours is visiting with us at the moment, and she shared this poem with me. It spoke to me of the need to be right in our prayer life, first and foremost, and I thought it was really beautiful. I’d like to share it with you.