For many years now, I’ve gotten up early each morning so I could have some quiet prayer time with God before heading off to work. Of course, since early 2020 heading off to work means closing my home laptop and opening my work laptop.

The nature of my time with God has varied over the years, often frequently interrupted by random, worldly, pinball thoughts bouncing my attention around to everything but God. Yet I’ve usually been able to wrestle my thoughts back to God long enough to have some quality alone time with Him.

Anyway, this morning I saw something new in my time with God. Shortly before He returned to heaven, Jesus said to His apostles, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me talk about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. … You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:4-5, 8).

I believe that message applies to us as well, in our morning time with God. I believe that Jesus is telling me to not leave my time alone with God until His Spirit has fully come upon me. Don’t work on my writing, don’t interact with others, don’t open my work laptop, until I’ve escaped captivity to all those worldly pinball thoughts and felt the Spirit take control. Yes, control. For as Paul said in Romans, “The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. … You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature (e.g., many of my worldly thoughts) but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you” (Romans 8:6, 9).

For me, there’s no better way to start my day than hand-in-hand with the Holy Spirit of God and Jesus. He in me, and me in Him, with Him in control. He will lead, and I will follow.