Have you ever tried to get your kids to grab a jacket on the way out the door when it’s stifling hot? The temps have been sizzling for days so they’re sure you’re nuts! (Let’s face it. They were already convinced!)

But this is it. Your kids rolled out of bed with only minutes to spare. They banked their day on all kinds of assumptions. You, on the other hand, rose early to get the forecast. Though everything you’re telling them seems outrageously inaccurate, you’ve spent time doing what they didn’t. You received inside information concerning what was coming before it gets here.

Sure enough, those cantankerous ones who rolled their eyes and huffed their way to the car returned home later that day with chill bumps, wrapped up in that handy dandy jacket they suddenly appreciate.

Too many of us assume “we know” based on what we’ve known. We walk into our days completely unaware of what is coming our way. One moment the sun is glistening. The next minute the winds and waves of life flood in without warning. We quickly realize we are not prepared for the storm threatening us.

But Friends, we get the opportunity each new day to receive insider information about what happens before it happens. TRULY! When we decide to get up a little earlier and consult the One who never gets even one detail wrong, we walk into our day with an outlook prepared for any turbulence in the atmosphere.

I’m not insinuating that God downloads every move before He makes it. But I most assuredly believe He shows things to His covenant people to prepare them before they even fathom they need it. I can’t tell you the number of times God revealed something to my family before it landed on our doorstep. In those intimate and extended times of prayer, it’s almost as if the One we trust with everything realizes He can trust us, too. (Actually, He already knows this but now He acts on it.)

He shines an illuminating light into the dark place just ahead. We see what others cannot see and know what others cannot know.

Consequently, while some folks stand in the cold completely unprepared, we have everything we need to walk through that season while helping them, too.

I tell you no lie when I say that prayer is one of the greatest privileges of my life. To consider that the very One whose fingertips created 100 billion galaxies actively makes time to bend down low and listen to me . . . it messes me all up! (And we think we are the ones that don’t have time for Him? How backward is that?!)

But, this incredible Lover of our souls doesn’t just dutifully “make time” to be with us . . . it’s His greatest joy. YOU are the obsession of His heart! He rushes to your side at the very mention of His Name.

Are you tired of rolling through life in a fog? Are you frustrated by relapsing disappointment when things do not go as planned?

Let’s do it. Let’s get up a little early and spend some time with the One who gives us inside information before we step into the “crazy” of today. I promise you, He’s on it with unbelievable precision. He’ll never lead you in the wrong direction. I assure you, He doesn’t miss a thing!

Psalm 5:3 (Amplified)

In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice;

In the morning I will prepare [a prayer and a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait

[for You to speak to my heart].