Make Every Day CountSample

Prioritizing Prayer Each Day

What three things could you crush today?

Some of my goals today might be running five miles, doing two hundred pushups and sit-ups, or rowing 10,000 meters. But not all of them are about health and exercise. My faith and family are my top priorities in life, and my goals (like yours) should reflect that.

So, one of my goals, no matter what, is to wake up thirty minutes before I’m supposed to be somewhere so that I can talk and listen to God. If I’m at home, I’ll jump in my hot tub—I call it my prayer tub—and I’ll pray for twenty minutes. That’s non-negotiable to me because it’s my faith. It’s about me praying for people in my life who are important, and getting aligned with God to start my day. It used to be one of my goals that I’d write down, but now it’s just part of my daily routine.

The first time I did it, I set a timer on my cellphone and wrapped it in a towel so I wouldn’t see it ticking down. I prayed, listened for God, and went through my prayer list of people who were on my heart. After all of that, I figured the twenty-minute timer should have gone off. I looked at my phone, and only six minutes had passed.

You start small. You get better.

Setting daily goals ensures that your efforts remain aligned with your assignments. Think about it: You can’t be a great pitcher if you’re aimed at second base, right? The pitcher must be aligned with home plate. Or, again, as I like to say it, your alignment must match your assignment. You must understand what you’re working toward to get better.

When I started this journey to make every day count, I couldn’t rely on my identity as an athlete, using my physical body to bring glory to God. But He used my weak condition to integrate spiritual discipline into my goal setting. Making every day count is more than habits and goals; it’s an approach to living to the glory of who God designed you to be.

And I think it makes His day when He sees us crushing these things—three things—every day.