Awaken The Dawn

AWAKEN THE DAWN!

Bartocci describes her experience in “One Hour that Can Change Your Life.” She tells of her first attempt of spend- ing an an early morning hour with God; finally, after fifty minutes, the very atmosphere began to change, “as the ambience of a house will change when someone you love is home.” Then the family awakened, “But all through the rest of the day, I felt warmed by the memory of that love.” She soon discovered, like all the rest of us, that an hour of prayer is not always attended with the same warm feel- ings, or atmosphere. Sometimes, one simply waits and shares with God. Regardless of emotion, however, the hour becomes an indispensable part of one’s life. Bartocci’s testimony is confirmed by so many praying people, it seems appropriate to include it here: My early morning prayer vigils began from a sense of desperate need for God’s guidance. Although I have been successful by most ministerial standards, I found myself at a spiritual stalemate after pastoring for twenty-two years in the same church which I myself built. I was a Spirit-filled man of God, but I found my communion with Him unsatisfactory. I am embarrassed to say it was not easy to develop the habit of starting the day with an hour of His presence. Now I crusade to win converts to this wonderful practice! I started my ministry at the age of twelve playing piano for my mother’s Sunday School in a public housing devel- Through every crisis, I have found a quietness of soul in that hour with God. It gives me time to put things in perspective, to find God in every circum- stance. Once I find Him, there seems to be no prob- lem that cannot be resolved.

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