A Magnolia's Heart Beats

Morning Worship - WFW

My feet hit the floor running this morning. I overslept by 15 minutes, the dog needed to be let out, I needed to get dressed, pull clothes from the dryer, put on a touch of make-up and get dressed, there were things to gather, a post to publish and out the door I ran.

On my way to work I thought, "Oh, no! I forgot my calendar!" I didn't have time to go back home and I knew that although there was something on my calendar that I needed I could find it at work. (One of my mottos is that you can never have too many lists. What's on my paper calendar is in my GroupWise (email) calendar.) Traffic was lighter than usual, so I made it to work with time to spare. I logged on my computer, spoke to a few people, ran and got my coffee and sat down to eat my eggos (plain, thank you, just a little this side of burned). I called up my plans for the day and put the finishing touches on some notes for staff meeting.

Satisfied, I sat back and felt a gentle whisper in my heart as if it had been audibly whispered in my ear.

In all the hustle and bustle of the morning, I'm ashamed to say I hadn't even taken the time to be still before the Lord. Fortunately I had time before work to shut my office door and join Him in prayer before the workday began.

The Hebrew word for still is is raphah, which means:

1) to sink, relax, sink down, let drop, be disheartened
a) (Qal)
1) to sink down
2) to sink, drop
3) to sink, relax, abate
4) to relax, withdraw
b) (Niphal) idle (participle)
c) (Piel) to let drop
d) (Hiphil)
1) to let drop, abandon, relax, refrain, forsake
2) to let go
3) to refrain, let alone
4) to be quiet
e) (Hithpael) to show oneself slack

I needed to take this precious time to be quiet and relax myself before God, letting go and sinking into a time of prayer with Him. I was grateful for the chance to withdraw from the busyness of the morning and became very still and had a wonderful time as I re-started my day.

I usually start my prayer time with confession, but this morning I began in adoration. I was reminded that the Lord is to be exalted over all things, including everything from my hectic morning to the whole earth!

The Hebrew word for exalted is ruwm, which means:

1) to rise, rise up, be high, be lofty, be exalted
a) (Qal)
1) to be high, be set on high
2) to be raised, be uplifted, be exalted
3) to be lifted, rise
b) (Polel)
1) to raise or rear (children), cause to grow up
2) to lift up, raise, exalt
3) to exalt, extol
c) (Polal) to be lifted up
d) (Hiphil)
1) to raise, lift, lift up, take up, set up, erect, exalt, set on high
2) to lift up (and take away), remove
3) to lift off and present, contribute, offer, contribute
e) (Hophal) to be taken off, be abolished
f) (Hithpolel) to exalt oneself, magnify oneself
2) (Qal) to be rotten, be wormy

"Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy." ~ Psalm 99:5 (NIV)

We should always bow down to God and put everything under His feet, for He alone is holy. No matter how busy we think we are, nothing should detract from His holiness. You can bet I'll wake up on time in the morning! (I had grandchildren until 10:30 last night!)

The Hebrew word for holy in the verse above is qadowsh, which means:

1) sacred, holy, Holy One, saint, set apart

Our God is so Holy. He is to be the object of our affection and adoration. He deserves our stillness before Him, for only in that stillness can we really communicate with Him, devoting our hearts to hearing His response to our prayers. We are to set Him apart and above as sacred from all that is here on earth.

Will you be still before the Lord with me and exalt His holy Name?

B - Begin each day with Him in prayer. "But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you." ~ Psalm 88:13 (NIV)

E - Exalt Him above all things. "Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens." ~ Psalm 148:13 (NIV)

S - Set aside distractions to this time. "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." ~ Matthew 6:6 (NIV)

T - Trust His holy name as we rejoice in Him. "In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name." ~ Psalm 33:21 (NIV)

I - Intrust Him with all prayers. "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." ~ Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

L - Look for opportunities to pray. "Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always." ~ 1 Chronicles 6:11 (NIV)

L - Love Him as He loves us. "We love because he first loved us." ~ 1 John 4:19 (NIV)

The purpose of WFW is to share the Word of God through photo's and a verse. Amydeanne, over at The 160 Acre Woods, is our hostess. Be sure to link up and share your own, and drop her a thank you for hosting this wonderful meme each week. It always blesses my heart to read all the posts and see the photos and verses. This is a wonderful way to minister to others and to be ministered to by reading others posts. Please visit by clicking on the button below.