The Bible encourages us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). And a lifestyle of non-stop prayer starts in the morning. There's something about praying in the morning that aligns us better. In a spiritual, mental and even physiological sense we seem more focused and clear with our day when we start it off with prayer.

When it comes to praying in the morning, there's no example better than Jesus. Mark 1:35 tells us, "And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed." If Jesus made it a point to pray early in the morning, there's no reason for us not to strive for us to do the same.

Praying in the morning is a means of inviting God into our day even before it begins and allowing Him to go before us. Here are four things you can pray for in the morning as you approach God and offer your day to Him.

Thanksgiving. There's something about gratitude that stirs up in our spirit and mind a sense of freshness. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us, "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." God's desire is for us to be thankful. Why? Because there is just so much to be thankful for- the previous day, the day to come, our relationships, our work, our life in Christ and so on.

Praise. When teaching the disciples to pray, Jesus taught them to start by praying "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name..." (Matthew 6:9). Praising God is a good way of reestablishing His power, being and ability over our lives. As human as we are we can forget who God is to us and what He can do. When we are reminded, the best response is to praise Him.

God's leading and will for the day. Whether you have your day planned out or not, God has. His plans are good, pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2) and it's totally for our welfare- a means to give us a hope and future (Jeremiah 29:11). So to ask for God's will is to ask for His best for us. We are to ask God on a daily basis not as a means of twisting His arm but a means of acknowledging that we want what God wants for us.

Provision. There's a reason why Jesus taught us to pray for "daily" bread. All that we receive comes from God- our life, our money, our careers, our relationships and everything else we now have. To pray for provision is to acknowledge Him as our source and praying that in the morning reminds us who gives all things to us. As James 1:17 reminds us, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."