I know of very few people who spring out of bed in the morning chipper and ready to great the day with enthusiasm. And that ones I do know, the ones we call “morning people,” I don’t like to spend much time with until I have my morning coffee.

Watch and pray. Those were the words I read this morning as I read my daily Scripture readings (see Mark 14:34 and 38). The setting is the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus takes his disciples with him as he enters into deep prayer. He asks that they watch, that they wake up, that they stay alert… and pray.
I think the two are intimately connected.
Wakefulness. Alertness. And prayer. Prayer is giving one’s continued and sustained attention to God.
[Many of these reflections were inspired by Archbishop Anthony Bloom. I just finished his book Beginning to Pray and highly recommend it.]