Joni recites a beautiful poem in this program, that can be used as a prayer for you every morning.
SHAUNA: This is Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope with a morning prayer from Joni.
JONI: And no matter what time of day you are listening, I have got a beautiful poem that I’d like to give you. It is as I said, a Good Morning Prayer. And we all need prayer when we throw back the covers in the morning and get out of bed to face the day, right? I know that for me, morning is such a difficult time; because of my quadriplegia, I pretty much lay in one position, on my left side in bed all night long until, oh, say around 4 AM when Ken gets up to turn me on my right side. Once he’s done that, I’m pretty much in that position until 7:30 in the morning. So, you can imagine – lying in bed in just two positions for most of the night, well it makes for some pretty stiff and painful mornings. Now please, I’m not complaining, for me, it’s just a fact of life. I don’t do well on air mattresses, and it’s my choice. I don’t want to have to wake my husband up more than one time. So, when it comes to the pain I face in the mornings, I pretty much have made up my own bed and I’m happy to sleep in it.
Which is why, for me, it is so important to remind myself of things I know to be true about God and his promises. I surround myself with visible reminders, like on my bedroom walls there are several cross-stitched Bible verses; God’s Word is right there when I wake up and all I have to do is turn my head on the pillow. I also brighten my morning with songs. When my girlfriend comes in to get me up, we put on my Pandora playlist of favorite worship music. I also reflect on lines from hymns and favorite poems, too, like this one: it’s called Sunrise Prayer written by James Weldon Johnson. It’s the perfect thing to tuck into your Bible when you have your morning quiet times, to read as you start your day, to reflect on while the dawn is still pink and purple and fresh; it is beautiful prose that you may even want to memorize, and this is how this poem called Sunrise Prayer goes:
“O mighty, powerful, dark-dispelling sun, Now thou art risen, and thy day has begun. How shrink the shrouding mists before thy face, As up thou spring’st to thy diurnal race! How darkness chases darkness to the west, As shades of light on light rise radiant from thy crest! For thee, great source of strength, emblem of might, In hours of darkest gloom there is no night. Thou shinest on, though clouds hide thee from sight, And through each break thou sendest down thy light.
“O greater Maker of this Thy great sun, Give me the strength this one day’s race to run, Fill me with light, fill me with sun-like strength, Fill me with joy to robe the day its length. Light from within, light that will outward shine, Strength to make strong some weaker heart than mine, Joy to make glad each soul that feels its touch; Great Father of the sun, I ask this much.”
SHAUNA: What a wonderful prayer to set the tone for the day, Joni! May God give us the strength for this one day’s race to run, and fill me, fill you, and fill us all. May God’s sun-like strength; strength to make strong some weaker heart today. Listening friend, what a great incentive for your morning, for my morning! Again, Joni’s poem is from the “Sunrise Prayer” by James Wendell Johnson. And we have it right on our website for you at joniradio.org. I pray that tomorrow morning, you, too, will sense God’s sun-like strength. And if you need more encouragement, go to joniradio.orgfor many more messages of hopefrom Joni, and while you are there be sure to share your prayer request. We want to pray for you. Remember that’s joniradio.org.
© Joni and Friends