A Prayer to Start the Day with Gladness

“Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:17 ESV)

The moment I wake up, thoughts begin competing for my attention. I’ve noticed that my response depends on where I put my focus. I may react with frustration over my long to-do list awaiting me, or I may worry about things out of my control. I might even feel moody because I didn’t sleep well. So I have a choice to make first thing in the morning when starting my day. Will I choose to focus on whichever thought screams the loudest? Or will I choose gladness?

Acts 14 gives an account of Paul and Barnabas as they traveled around preaching about Jesus. While in Lystra, God used Paul to heal a man “crippled from birth.” The townspeople immediately began praising Paul and Barnabas and calling them gods. The crowd’s focus was on the wrong thing, so they couldn’t see the true source of their gladness.

Paul and Barnabas showed great remorse for how the people responded. They pleaded with the witnesses to “turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.” (Acts 14:15) Then Paul pointed the people back to Jesus by telling them about his goodness.

Read the full devotional here.

Video by Kayla Koslosky

Stock footage and music courtesy: ©Soundstripe Library

Thumbnail: ©Soundstripe Library/SWN Design