A Prayer a Day: Good morning, Lord. My greetings you each morning  reminds me that I am the arbitrator of my life. I decide, when I open my eyes and have had enough coffee to wake up, what kind of day it is and will be. I may look outside to see if the sun is shining, and check the sky to see if it is clear blue with white, puffy, clouds or gray, bleak, with dark thunder clouds on the horizon. The evaluation is mine and each individual person’s. Not only do we evaluate, we set the criteria for the evaluation. Often times I am positively or negatively affected by how things look. Although, I suspect this  is a very ordinary fact of human nature to be affected by appearances, it’s not encouraged by Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we know that repeatedly in scripture, we read that we walk by faith not by sight. So, one way that we can deal with our natural tendency to evaluate the day or any situation, by how it looks, is to look inward before we look outward. Then we can develop a strong inner well of affirmations to shape our seeing, thinking, and behavior. For example, Romans 12:2 reads,”Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-God’s good, pleasing,and perfect will.” Many things happen in the course of every life. Everyday is not sunny for anyone. What we need is to look inward, not outward; when we look inward we do not see the sun at all, we see the Son. You, Holy God, have sent your Holy Spirit to dwell within us. When we remember that you, Lord, live in our hearts,  every morning, afternoon, and evening are good, regardless of external circumstances. During this pandemic we have a once in a hundred year opportunity, to draw closer to you, Lord. We have the precious gift of time to read, study, pray, and think. We have time to call an old friend, a neighbor, a fellow church member, or a family member. We are the maker of this day! Let us declare it good and move forward to put our faith in action. Come Holy Spirit and help us stand on faith: amen.