Morning Dedication

I've admitted that I'm a morning person. Maybe you are, too - or maybe you prefer a little space until you warm up. Either way, when you come to life this morning, it is important to set your heart's course for the day. So what goal will you aim for and journey toward today? These two concluding lines from an old Puritan prayer (titled Morning Dedication in The Valley of Vision) really moved me today.

If my life should end today, May this be my best day.

What a great and lofty goal! But rather intimidating, too. How are we to achieve this goal today? Through prayer. Yes, you must be intentional, too. But even the greatest of intentions vaporize quickly, do they not? So dedicate your day to God in prayer. You can use the Lord's prayer as a template or great prayers of other saints, like this one which I've copied below in its entirety.

Almighty God,
As I cross the threshold of this day
I commit myself – soul, body, affairs, friends, to thy care;
Watch over, keep, guide, direct, sanctify, and bless me.
Incline my heart to thy ways;
Mould me wholly into the image of Jesus, as a potter forms clay;
May my lips be a well-tuned harp to sound thy praise;
Let those around see me living by thy Spirit,
trampling the world underfoot,
unconformed to lying vanities,
transformed by a renewed mind,
clad in the entire armor of God,
shining as a never-dimmed light,
and showing holiness in all my doings.
Let no evil this day soil my thoughts, words, or hands.
May I travel miry paths with a life that is pure from spot or stain.
In needful transactions let my affection be in heaven,
and my love soar upwards in flames of fire,
my gaze fixed on unseen things,
my eyes open to the emptiness, fragility,
and mockery of earth with its vanities.
May I view all things in the mirror of eternity,
waiting for the coming of my Lord,
listening for the last trumpet call,
hastening toward the new heaven and new earth.
Order this day all my communications according to thy wisdom,
and to the gain of mutual good.
Forbid that I should not be profited or made profitable.
May I speak each word as if my last word,
and walk each step as my final one.
If my life should end today,
let this be my best day.