Pray until you feel the connection. Pray because prayer is the key in getting first things first in your mind and in your heart. And without first things first, there is no power, point or reason to do anything you’re so anxious to do after the prayer.
Pray because connecting with His love, and His power, makes the good things you want possible. Pray as long as you need too. Everything else will still be there. Nothing is going to get done right anyway (even if it does get done) without a real prayer.
Pray because you need to know you are loved and important if you’re going to assist others in knowing that they are loved and important. Pray because without Him at the center, everything else becomes too important and your world becomes too brittle to manage.
Pray because in His world, the world you enter in prayer, there is peace and happiness, and maybe, after the prayer you can take some of this into your world.
Pray and meditate until you are in the present—the blessed “now.” That’s where God lives, in this eternal present. So, live with Him. Draw near to Him-- but more so, draw into Him, or into His way. His way is the present. Be in the present then for at least a little while—long enough to put your head on his bosom, like John the Beloved leaned on Jesus.
Lean on God, through Christ. Come unto Him. Stay here for a while. Fill up with joy and gratitude, then, address the vision for your life and the priorities for the day. See, more fully who and how to serve. Feel the ideas flow, and the guidance begin to build. Now is the time to rise from your knees and begin your day. This is the way to start your day.