Emmanuel Greeting (A Five Minute Focus)
A prayer poem and devotional thought for awakening the morning
Emmanuel Greeting
Jesus, let this day resound with praises to You.
May my heart be filled with rejoicing,
May my words be filled with praises,
May my thoughts be focused on you:
For you are indeed Emmanuel,
God with me
Today, tomorrow, forever.
Let me experience the fullness
Of your presence this day.
Let me know that you
Are forever Emmanuel.
Hallelujah!
Five Minute Focus
How do you greet each day? Do you say, “Good morning, Lord!” or “Good Lord, it’s morning!” Most of us just get out of bed when we wake up. We either “pop” out of bed if we are morning people or “crawl” out of bed if we are not. What if we started each day with a “Five Minute Focus on God?”
If you use an alarm and need to be at work, school, etc., set your alarm for five minutes earlier and stay in bed until your alarm normally goes off. If you do not use an alarm, just stay in bed for five more minutes. Of course, there may be some personal things that you need to do when you first wake up. Don’t try to stay in bed and “ignore” your body. Take care of what you have to take care of then get back into bed. Enjoy the comfort of just lying there (all warm and cozy) and begin focusing your mind on God. Push out any distractions of thinking about what you need to do during the day. Intentionally focus on God - not yourself, not your family, not your job, not any other thing in this world. Focus solely on God!
During your Five Minute Focus, relax your body as you focus on God. Think about him—how great he is, how wonderful he is, how loving he is, etc. There is no set way to do this or a specific method to focus on God. He will lead you when you truly focus on him. However, here are five ways to help direct your focus.
Greet God with a heartfelt “Good morning, Lord!” This acknowledges that you are thinking about him, focusing on him.
Praise him for who he is (his attributes) and what he has done in your life (his actions).
Express your gratitude for his unconditional love, mercy, and grace.
Thank him for the day ahead and ask him to guide your thoughts, words, and actions.
End by saying Psalm 128:24 - “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it!”
You can also do the same type of prayer exercise when you lay your head on your pillow each night. The next post will be about an evening “five-minute focus on God.” These are called “Bookend Prayers.” You “bookend” your day (beginning and end) by focusing on God.
Grace and Peace,
