When I was a child, my family began each morning by praying and then reading a passage of Scripture together over breakfast.

At the end of each day, after my dad tucked me into bed, bedtime prayers began with the familiar refrain: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep…”

I am over half a century old now. After all these years, prayer is still my first occupation when I wake each morning, and it is the last thing I do before I go to sleep at night.

One of the things for which I am grateful to my parents: they taught me that prayer is as ubiquitous, as necessary, and as natural to the Christian life as breathing air.

Today, I want to write. What do I need in order to begin?

My laptop. An idea. An uncluttered mind. A couple of hours free from the distractions of housework and school and outside appointments. A fresh pot of coffee or a cup of hot tea.

And before I settle my fingertips onto the keyboard, before I begin to write, I need to pray.