Giving My Mornings to God
When I put God first every day, my life gained a better purpose.
I reached over and pressed the snooze button on my phone for the fifth time. Twenty minutes had now passed since my original alarm, but I convinced myself that I could still get ready in time for school. It seemed like mere seconds had passed when my phone started buzzing again. Deciding that I was probably out of any bonus sleep time, I slowly slipped out of my warm covers and began preparing for the day.
But that preparation time was now rushed and haphazard. I said my morning prayer quickly and dispassionately, didn’t eat breakfast, and skipped scripture study because I thought I could get to it later. I headed out the door and arrived a little late to my destination, just like always.
That’s how my mornings went for a long time. There was a certain kind of passivity that accompanied them. While I sincerely did my best to fulfill my responsibilities in studying, completing assignments, and performing my duties at work, there was an overarching sense of going through the motions and a lack of engagement in my various activities.
When evening arrived, I would delay going to bed and instead stayed out late with friends or filled my time with aimless activities like watching, playing, and reading whatever my phone served up.
Months of my life passed by like this. And whether I wanted to recognize it or not, it was straining my relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ—something that I had learned on my mission to cherish and protect above all else. I felt the power of my relationship with Them diminishing and my ability to recognize and heed the influence of the Holy Spirit declining.
More and more I felt like I was walking alone in life, relying on my own strength and my own wisdom.
Choosing to Put God First
I knew that I needed a change in my life if I was going to become the person I had always wanted to be for God. The days of hitting the snooze button needed to come to an end. So, I decided to start my day with God the moment I woke up—no excuses.
In the mornings I began praying sincerely to know what God would have me do that day, and I asked for help with what I needed to accomplish. I also spent quality time in the scriptures, studying the words of Christ.
Giving God my mornings required greater self-discipline on my end. It required me to wake up early enough, which required me to go to bed early.
At first I thought these new habits would be too hard, but to my surprise, they weren’t. And I wondered why.
I came to the conclusion that it was so easy because my goal wasn’t to be more productive or to fit more activities into my day; rather, my goal was focused on drawing closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Now whenever I am tempted to press the snooze button, I remember this desire. It puts everything into the proper perspective, and my motivation to keep my new habits is strengthened.
Letting God Prevail
As I allow my mind, body, and spirit to be invigorated in the morning hours, I invite the Holy Ghost into my life and feel a stronger connection to its influence. And because I have become more intentional in my relationship with God, letting Him know that I am ready to hear and obey His voice at the beginning of my day, I now feel better connected to Him as well. It is just as President Russell M. Nelson said: “We can choose to let God prevail in our lives, or not. We can choose to let God be the most powerful influence in our lives, or not.”1
My efforts have not been perfectly consistent, but because I have chosen to make God a greater focus in my life, the blessings I have received in return have been unmistakable. I no longer feel passive or aimless but instead feel led and directed by a loving Heavenly Father.
By partnering with God at the beginning of my day, I have allowed Him to become a constant influence. And because I have been more intentional in my relationship with Him, He has become a close, ever-guiding partner in my daily decisions.
God truly can do more with and through me than I could ever do by myself, and that knowledge allows me to wake up each morning with greater belief, hope, and love for Him than ever before.