Craig Smith - Awake in the Dawn

A 365-Day Devotional

Awake in the Dawn

Living the Lords Prayer

Craig Smith

Not always are musicians also composers. Craig Smith is both. Not always are composers of music also lyricists. Again, Craig is both. And rarely are composers also authors of books. Once again, Craig is both. Add to all of these the seasoned musings of a veteran pastor, a man who has walked with Jesus day-by-day for decades. These components coalesce in Awake in the Dawn, providing an incisive devotional that will enrich your year and point each day toward eternal verities. Im so glad Craig has opened his heart to share his daily journey with us. This is one book youll return to year after year.

David Shibley, Founder of Global Advance

I just finished reading Craig Smiths new book Awake in the Dawn nearly from cover to cover. Wowit is to the point, loaded with encouragement, and a perfect length to help you get started on the right foot every morning. Ive known Craig for forty years, and I can personally testify that he is a source of powerful spiritual insights for your mind and spirit. When you get your copy of Awake in the Dawn, please dont let it be one of those books that just lies around the house. Be sure to read it for it may be the very tool youve been searching for to make a big difference in your spiritual life.

Rick Renner, Pastor, teacher, author, broadcaster

I have known Craig Smith for over twenty years and after reading this book, I can tell you it is the perfect reflection of his heart and ministry. Craigs spirit and life mirror a devotion and heart for God like few people I have ever met. I need this daily guidance, this daily moment, this daily remembrance of the heart of God for me, and I encourage you to get this book and use it as intendedto bring you into the presence of a God and immerse your life in Him daily.

Chris Thomason, President & CEO of in:ciite media

I am so excited to have a daily tool to fix my eyes back on truth. A good day starts with a good morning, and this devotional lays out the blueprints for everything you need to be spiritually focused and ready for the struggles of each day. Craig is full of so much wisdom, and I know he lives by every principle laid out in this book.

Shay Mooney, multi-music and Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter

I have known Craig Smith since I first heard his marvelous recording Hymns. Later he graced my Songs for Worship Volume II by singing in the choir where his golden tenor voice is clearly heard. It has been a joy to watch his journey into the pastorate and as he tirelessly helps orphans in Africa. He has blessed them, and me. This devotional springs from Craigs prayerful heart. It is not another theological treatment of the Our Father, of which Church Fathers and great theologians have already written masterfully. It is a simple and beautifully written prayer. I pray it brings the reader back to the heart of God the Father through Christ the Son in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus,

John Michael Talbot, Founder, Spiritual Father, and General Minister of The Brothers and Sisters of Charity Little Portion Hermitage

I highly recommend Awake in the Dawn because I can highly recommend the author, my dear friend Craig Smith. Someone has said that true devotion is proven not by years, but by decades. I have known Craig for fifty years, and I can say I deeply admire his honest and true devotion to Jesus. He does not find his identity in what he has accomplished, or is doing, but rather in being a worshipper and a son of the Living God. Out of that root of integrity comes the fruit of this anointed booka call back to the simplicity of devotion to Christ, and an evergreen first love. It brings us back to the sure foundation of the Lords prayer, both for our lives and our prayers. May the Lord use this in your life to bring forth more of the image of Jesus in your life and the power of Jesus in your prayers.

Rick Ridings, Founder Succat Hallel 24/7 House of Prayer overlooking the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, international speaker, and author of Shifting Nations Through Houses of Prayer

Awake in the Dawn is wonderful offering and tool for encouraging much-needed and consistent devotional quiet times.

Jaci Velasquez, platinum-selling celebrity, award-winning recording artist, author, radio/TV host, and speaker

I have known Craig Smith for over forty years, and we have worked on many projects together. None is more timely than his latest, Awake in the Dawn, a book of daily meditative devotionals based on the Lords Prayer, the first prayer Jesus taught us to pray. I have seen Craigs walk with God throughout our friendship, his dedication above all to the Lords will, and the sacrifices hes made to bring others to Christ, feed the hungry, give homes to the homelesseven literally risk his life to protect members of his flock. And yet, even with all those amazing experiences, what we have in Awake in the Dawn is Craig sitting on his back porch sharing in his simple, soft-spoken style, essential precepts, and teachings that will change our livesif well pay attention! I highly recommend you start all your days with this wonderful book.

Paul Mills, composer/mix engineer of War Room, Woodlawn, Overcomer, producer/mixer I Can Only Imagine, I Still Believe, artists Heather Headley, Twila Paris, Don Moen, Robin Mark, and Phillips, Craig and Dean

Jesus offered us his best template for prayer in what we call the Lords Prayer. Awake in the Dawn uses this template to guide its readers along a year-long spiritual journey in solid biblical prayer path whether someone is just beginning to learn how to pray or already well established in their devotional time.

Mark Schultz, platinum-selling, Dove Award-winning recording artist and author

In a world that has become challenged by disruptions, aggressions, uncertainties, and insecurities, Awake in the Dawn leads us on a daily path to hope and stability from the ancient, but proven keys within the Lords Prayer.

Rudy Prez, 5-time Grammy Award-winning songwriter, producer, artist, and author

Singer, songwriter, and author Craig Smith has penned another masterpiece. Awake in the Dawn is a beautifully written daily devotional with 365 thought-provoking reminders about what is true in our lives and how knowing that truth changes us. Spend a few minutes here every day and find peace, safety, and direction.

Dennis Welch, Author, songwriter, encourager, President and CEO of Articulte, former senior staff writer at Gallup

Morning by morning He wakens me and opens my understanding to His will.

Isaiah 50:4

On the morning just before I began writing this introduction, I looked through the front window of my home. There was just enough light to see a mist hovering over the field between the house and the wooded hillside, and I could see deer foraging gracefully in the green grass.

I quietly opened the door, stepped out onto the porch, and immediately heard the soothing lull of the whip-poor-will, the tree frogs croaking, and the chirp of crickets. After a few moments of standing in the gentle sounds of predawn, I retreated indoors to one of my favorite spots to read, pray, and quietly contemplate.

I love early mornings, and for a very long time now they have been most precious, almost sacred, to me. Early mornings are usually quiet, still, uncluttered, and they make for a good time to spiritually prepare for the day. I started this practice years ago when our children were small. Often, the beginning hours of the morningthose hours before the daylight readies itself to appear on the horizonwere the only quiet moments in those early years of our family.