And Samuel prayed to the LORD.

                1 Samuel 8. 6

(A very simple verse,

       but a profound life-changing one.

What is our first response

          to difficulty,

          to what lies ahead,

          to what is right before us?

What is our default?

Panic first

               or pray?

Samuel did not just make prayer

                         a habit,

    but his practice.

How differently we would live

    if we prayed first,

laying it all out before the LORD,

lifting it up,

and letting God lay out before us

                    His way in this?)

O LORD,

Forgive us, Almighty One,

     for not coming to You first

with all our troubles

                   and hardships

         and even our joys.

Order our days.

Guide our thoughts.

Align our hearts with Yours.

Reveal to us Your way in this.

And help us to respond to You.