I recently took this picture from my back deck – the moon was a waning crescent and Venus was shining brightly in the early morning sky.  The rest of the sky displayed a majestic panoply of stars.  The words of David in Psalm 19 came to mind, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.”

I love the early morning hours – there is a calm stillness combined with an anticipation of the day before us.  I start by reading God’s word to gain His perspective for the day.  Then I reflect on what He is saying to me – prayer is not simply a monologue but rather a dialogue.  I am learning the significance of Samuel’s response to God, "Speak, for Your servant is listening" (1 Samuel 3:10).  It’s amazing how much you can hear when you’re listening.  I am learning to slow down and hear what God is saying to me.

Then I take what God has taught me throughout the day.  His word guards my heart when I’m:

• cut off in traffic
• sitting through a long meeting
• speaking with an unreasonable person
• going to the department of motor vehicles

You get the idea – I find that I need His perspective to get me through the day.  It’s been said that “We all live under the same sky, but we don’t all have the same horizon.”  Do you want to get your horizon enlarged?  Invest some time listening to God and gaining His perspective.