I’ve spoken to the first habit of “prayer and Scripture before phone.” The next habit that I’ll speak to is beginning and ending the day with prayer.
By beginning and ending the day with prayer, we are committing everything that takes place in between to the Lord. Each time, we confess that we are dependent creatures. We confess our faults and our failures, our needs and our fears. We give thanks for God’s mercies. We ask God to meet our needs. We bow the knee before the Almighty, acknowledge our need of a Savior, and confess that Jesus Christ is the Savior that God has provided for us.
Over the course of my life, I’ve been fairly consistent in beginning the day with prayer. But in the past, I’ve gotten involved in reading, or watching a game or a TV show, and not left any time for more than the most perfunctory prayers. I’m trying to build in the habit of honest-to-goodness prayer at night. Generally, I will begin with the Order for Compline from the Book of Common Prayer and add my own intercessions. It doesn’t take too long — maybe five or ten minutes.
The important thing here is formation. I need to be active in the process of conforming myself into the image of Christ. The point is not to have a profound religious experience or to spend a long time in intercession, but to continually commit myself to the Lord, and avail myself of his grace as the one thing needful in my life.
Half Baked 