“Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice” (Psalm 55:17).

Hudson Taylor was a British missionary. He was known to say this: “Don’t have your concert first, and then tune your instruments afterward.”*

That makes sense. There’s no point of tuning your instrument after the concert is already over. You have to do it ahead of time if it’s going to make any difference. 

He said that statement to motivate people to pray at the start of their day. If we want God’s intervention, help and guidance for whatever we face during the day, doesn’t it make sense to pray before it begins?

Some days start fast. We wake in a flurry and feel like we’re playing catch up for pretty much the entire day. I’ve been there too. But if our days are always starting that way, we may need to re-think how we’re organizing our time.

Does the soldier go on to the battlefield before putting on his armour?
Does the farmer reap the harvest before sowing the seed?
Does the musician play the concert before tuning her instrument? 

We don’t need to pray for hours, and we don’t need to use fancy words. God values faithfulness and honesty.

Whenever I start my day in prayer I know that I’m securely grounded, even if my day isn’t.

“Don’t have your concert first, and then tune your instruments afterward.”

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Notes:

-*As quoted on “The Everyday Pastor” podcast with Ligon Duncan and Matt Smethurst. Episode: “The Soul of the Pastor.” January 13, 2025.
-Bible quotes are from the NIV.