Jesus prayed "very early in the morning" (Mark 1:35), because He hardly got any peace! He had to pray early. Most of us do. Each day brings truckloads of distractions from prayer. The more demanding our daily schedules, the more we need to start each day in prayer.

We set aside time for people we love. With God, we set aside time for prayer. A healthy spiritual life thrives on consistent, focused times of prayer. Without established prayer times, this spiritual discipline easily gets pushed aside. Prayer at night is fine, but morning prayer allows us to commit the whole day to Him. We may want to stay up late at night and finish one more thing. But to wake up in the morning, sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is to go to bed on time! Here are three points to remember about your prayer time:

• Consider it an appointment with God. When people or situations ask for that time, say that you are available after your appointment. When you must give up your prayer time, make up for it as soon as possible"not out of obligation but because that time with God is life-giving to your soul.
• Establish the amount of time you commit to prayer. If you're not used to praying, start with ten minutes and gradually increase to half-an-hour or an hour. At first this may feel contrived. But far from legalism, this gives you the gift of uninterrupted time with God.
• Practice "intentional neglect." Throughout your prayer time intentionally neglect all the things shouting for your attention: dirty clothes and dishes, scattered toys, phone calls, E-mails, bills, letters, or homework. They will get done - later (except perhaps for babies with dirty diapers).

A well of unlimited spiritual life waits to be tapped through your prayer time.

Peter Lundell is an author and pastor of Walnut, California, Community Church of the Nazarene.

Please note: All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of original publication but may have since changed.