I ought not to omit any of the parts of prayer–confession, adoration, thanksgiving, petition, and intercession.
There is a fearful tendency to omit confession, proceeding from low views of God and His law, slight views of my heart and the sins of my past life. This must be resisted. There is a constant tendency to omit adoration, when I forget to whom I am speaking, when I rush heedlessly into the presence of Jehovah, without remembering His awful name and character, when I have little eyesight for His glory, and little admiration of His wonders. "What are the wise?" I have the native tendency of the heart to omit giving thanks. And yet it is specially commanded (Phil. 4: 6). Often when the heart is selfish, dead to the salvation of others, I omit intercession. And yet it especially is the spirit of the Great Advocate, who has the name of Israel always on His heart.
Perhaps every prayer need not have all these; but surely a day should not pass without some space being devoted to each.
I ought to pray before seeing any one. Often when I sleep long, or meet with others early, and then have family prayer, and breakfast, and forenoon callers, often it is eleven or twelve o'clock before I begin secret prayer. This is a wretched system. It is unscriptural. Christ rose before day, and went into a solitary place. David says, "Early will I seek Thee; Thou shalt early hear my voice." Mary Magdalene came to the sepucher while yet it was dark. Family prayer loses much of its power and sweetness; and I can do no good to those who come to seek from me. The conscience feels guilty, the soul unfed, the lamp not trimmed. Then, when secret prayer comes, the soul is often out of tune. I feel it is far better to begin with God, to see His face first, to get my soul near Him before it is near another. "When I awake I am still with thee." --- by Robert Murray M'Cheyne (1813-1843)
While I’m not sure I agree with his statement that it is “unscriptural” to not have your quiet time early before starting your day, I do believe that there is much truth in the rest of what he says. I agree that everyone is different. I think that quiet time with the Lord works best on an individual basis and depends greatly upon whether a person is a morning person or an evening person, and upon a person’s schedule.
However, for my life, there is just something about getting up and giving those first morning hours to God. Getting my life and thoughts right with Him, before you spend time with any one else or tackle any task. If I don’t do that, my entire day seems out of kilter, I’m ill prepared for emergencies, and I have nothing to give in counsel but my own thoughts and opinions. Like he says, “I can do no good to those who come to seek from me.” The conscience feels guilty, the soul unfed, the lamp not trimmed. Then, when secret prayer comes, the soul is often out of tune. I feel it is far better to begin with God, to see His face first, to get my soul near Him before it is near another. Of course, you know what that means --- going to bed early! No late night movies or talk shows. For me it is staying up to work on the computer.
Last night I found another marvelous source of old puritan sermons and writings. Last night it was Robert Murray M’Cheyne and Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones that kept me up. The time before that it was Arthur W. Pink and A. W. Tozer. I can always find a reason to stay up. I guess that’s why the Bible refers to “training” and “disciplining” ourselves, and bringing our body under control. My devotions today are pretty much a loss. I hope I’ve learned something. Staying up late at night is not only is unwise for someone with FMS it’s devastating to my devotional life and that definitely is not negotiable.
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