In elementary school, my priority was having fun, whether that be with friends in class, with my older sister at home, or being an adventurous kid in the great city of Quinlan, Texas. When I got into middle school and the first half of high school, women scared me a little less, and I found out that some of them thought I was cute, so I woke up and went to sleep each day thinking about having a girlfriend. I’m now 21 years old, women still scare me, but my priorities are much different.

A byproduct of growing up is making the most important things in your life the things you do first. For some that may be work, family, or maybe even a really cool hobby. For me, I started growing up my junior year, and my life showed growth for the first time. It all started with what I started my day off with. It’s called the “First Five”.

Now, I can’t take credit for this idea. It was actually taught to me by Blake Clickner. Don’t tell him that I’m giving credit, though. It’ll go to his head. My junior year, when I was brought into c|Life Youth Ministry, Blake taught me a simple routine: the first five minutes of your day, before you shower, check your emails, look in the mirror, you give your time to God. It sounded simple, and it honestly is, but it takes commitment and consistency.

Some days I would start my day off with listening to worship while in bed. Some days it would be prayer, talking to God, thanking him for providing, asking for wisdom, sometimes asking for a person to fall in love with me magically. Some days my routine would start with Scripture, reading the word of God and meditating on it, being taught directly from God. It was great, it set the tone for my day and focused on what my goals for the day were: love people, do things to the best of my ability, glorify God in everything I do.

When we start the day focusing on God, he responds to us. When we reach out to him in prayer, he hears us and answers. When we are intentional and reach out to God, whether that be for wisdom, provision, strength or whatever it may be, he responds. In James 4, we see just that:

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
— James 4:8

Your first five may look a little different, whether you mix in worship in with Scripture, whether your’re chronically late so you pray in the shower, or maybe you just sit still and soak in all that God has done in your life. For me, it starts with the first five minutes of the day, for you it may be 10 or 15. No matter how long it is, and no matter what it consists of, simply give it to God.