Have you had an unexpectedly rushed morning? Did you intend to wake up and spend your first minutes reading the Bible and talking with the Lord…but then you never woke up to your alarm?
Your Rushed Morning Leaves You Ruffled
Then, you had a horrible beginning to your day. You had minutes to get ready. Finding pants and a shirt for the day became your first priority, then shoes—which shoes? Where are my keys? The door slams behind you and walking to your car, you’re trying to remember if you have your phone—or wallet, or journal, or something. On the way to your morning meeting, you realize you entirely forgot breakfast.
If this wasn’t your morning today, our guess is you can recall mornings like it, or, it’s very likely such a morning will come upon you soon (though we sure hope not).
We all miss the alarm. Bad as it is to feel like the day is dragging you violently behind it, half-awake, the real trouble for those of us who have a relationship with Jesus is missing the time we intended to spend with him. Furthermore, we moan, not over our bedhead or abandoned breakfast, but at missing those first few moments with our Dearest Friend. We feel we have fudged a commitment, and shame enters the swirl of stress in our flustered hearts.
God Still Loves You on This Rushed Morning!
Oh! Friend! The day is not lost! That Dear Friend of yours knows what it is to be human (Hebrews 2:14, 17; John 6:6), he loved you before you loved him back (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:10), and his love is not conditional. His affection for you, his heart to bless you, and his presence with you is not dependent on your works, but on his own promise and his steadfast love. The hills could fall into the sea, and the world rip apart at its tectonic seams, and his love for you would not change (Isaiah 54:10).
After all, the very essence of your Christian faith—your relationship with Jesus—is trusting in and relying on God’s never-changing and unmerited favor toward you (Galatians 2:20).
You Can Still Seek the Lord!
The task this morning is not to recover the Lord’s love for you, as if you lost it in the morning shuffle when you missed your Bible and prayer time. He’s with you, unruffled, and ready to hear your every word (Psalm 34:15). You can still seek him this morning (Psalm 105:4)!
So, as you’re scrambling to begin your workday, we wrote out for you some simple prayers based off Psalm 90. We did this to sneak God’s Word into a spare moment so that you still hear his life-giving voice on a day you thought you missed out. We also did this so that you wouldn’t have to think so hard when it comes to praying. God loves to help us relate to him (Romans 8:26), and we hope this article just helps you draw near to God on a crazy day when your mind is racing.
Oh, and we timed it. This will only take you six minutes to read. You’ve already spent two-and-a-half, so let’s get going!
Pray from your heart, and may God prepare you for your workday and settle your heart as you receive his grace and peace (2 Peter 1:2).
A Prayer for Your Work on Rushed Mornings
(Psalm 90 is in bolded text).
“Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.” (v.1)
Lord, please make your nearness known and felt by me today, for I know that your Spirit lives in me and goes with me, but I want to experience this reality today (1 Corinthians 3:16).
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (v.2)
Lord, I praise you that you are God. I’m weak and human, needy, and limited, but you are everlasting and full of power. I praise you for all the ways that you are different from me because you are God, and you are everlasting. Help me rejoice in and depend on your power today.
“You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed.” (vv.3-7)
Lord, show me the preciousness of this day. Help me live intentionally knowing today is passing and short, but is also a gift from you to be received with joy and thankfulness.
“You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.” (v.8)
Thank you, Lord, for your complete and free forgiveness of my sins because of Jesus’ loving sacrifice for me on the cross. Lord, make me aware of the ways that I sin against you and grieve you (Ephesians 4:20-32), and help me be quick to confess those to you, so that I may receive the cleansing, pardon, and forgiveness you purchased for me on the cross (1 John 1:9). Thank you for your mercy toward me, and for not treating me as my sins deserve (Psalm 103:10).
“For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh.” (v.9)
Lord, please give me compassion for each person in my workplace who lives under your wrath and does not have a relationship with you through Jesus. Likewise, give me urgency to share your Word with others today and the good news that you have worked to rescue us from the wrath we deserve from our sins (1 Thessalonians 5:9; John 3:16). Please give me an opportunity to share your good news with others in love.
“The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.” (v.10)
Lord, please minimize and remove trouble from my workday. Give me power to endure the moments at work that will be marked by trouble, that may be toilsome, tedious, and tiring. Please give me your power to use all my heart, soul, mind, and strength to accomplish good out of love for you and others (Matthew 22:36-39).
“Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?” (v.11)
Lord, help me remember your wrath against ingratitude, lust, idolatry, pride, and every sin I commit in my attitudes and actions (Romans 1:18-32). Moreover, help me consider what my sin cost you on the cross, that I might honor you today and recognize again the love you showed me by rescuing me from the judgment I deserve.
Lord, please move in the hearts of my coworkers who don’t know you. Make them aware of their sin, the reality of eternity ahead, and where they stand with you. Please give them the gift of conviction to bring them to a place of recognizing their need for you (John 16:7-11; 2 Corinthians 7:9). And ultimately reveal the love you have for them in Jesus Christ, and the love you demonstrated toward them in his death on the cross and resurrection (John 3:16).
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (v.12)
Lord, help me to live today with intentionality. Indeed, help me to make the most of every opportunity (Ephesians 5:15-16). Give me wisdom to be a good steward of my time, relationships, and work today (James 1:5).
“Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants!” (v.13)
Lord, help me have the patience to express my every longing to you in prayer, and would you hear my every cry of distress today.
“Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.” (vv.14-15)
Lord, make your great love for me known to my heart. Likewise, help me to “know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that I may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). Help me receive all the love you have for me today. Would the belief in your love for me bring me great joy today. Make my gladness in you stronger than any frustration I face.
“Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.” (v.16)
Lord, give me the joy of seeing what you are accomplishing in my work, at my workplace, in my heart, and in the lives of those around me. Let me see what you are doing so that I can praise you for it. I want to experience the blessing of your friendship by sharing in your work and seeking your kingdom with you (John 15:15-16; Matthew 6:33).
“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us…” (v.17a)
Lord, help me believe, rest in, and rejoice in the grace you have for me. Help me to believe from my core that in all things you are for me, not because of my accomplishments, but because I have been given the gift of your favor and righteousness that Jesus earned for me by his perfect life (Romans 3:23-25; Romans 8:30-31; Ephesians 6:14).
“…and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” (v.17b)
Lord, today, take my work and come alongside me to prosper it in this life and, somehow, for eternity. Please make me excellent in my work and may I be successful in it to bless the world with your common grace (Matthew 5:45). Additionally, cause the work I do today to have some eternal impact (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; Ecclesiastes 3:14). Help me remain steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in your work, knowing my labor is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Rest and Rejoice on This Rushed Morning
Dear friend, remember God’s Word to you today, that he “will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19)—he even cares about that breakfast you missed and can provide for you (Matthew 6:31-32). Meanwhile, may your heart lighten as you trust the Lord, in whose hands you have placed your day.