Most of us know what it is to begin the day asking God for help.

Lord, give me strength.

Lord, guide my steps.

Lord, help me with what I’m facing today.

And there is certainly nothing wrong with those prayers. We need His strength, His wisdom, and His help every day.

But spiritual maturity sometimes turns the prayer in another direction:

“Lord, whom can I encourage today?”

The writer of Hebrews gives us this simple instruction:

“But exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today’…”

—Hebrews 3:13 (NKJV)

There is something significant about those two words: daily and today.

Encouragement is not merely something we offer occasionally when we happen to notice someone struggling. It can become an intentional part of the way we live.

To encourage someone is more than saying something nice. At its heart, encouragement means coming alongside another person and putting courage into them. Sometimes it is a word of affirmation. Sometimes it is a phone call, a text, a listening ear, or simply letting someone know, “I believe in you.”

Jonathan gave us a beautiful example of this when David was discouraged and hiding from Saul in the wilderness. Scripture says Jonathan went to David and “strengthened his hand in God.”

He didn’t simply tell David that everything was going to be okay. He pointed David upward.

That is encouragement at its best.

We never know what someone around us may be carrying. The person who appears strong may be weary. The person who is smiling may be fighting discouragement. Someone may be one word of encouragement away from finding the courage to keep going.

So perhaps one of the best prayers we can pray at the beginning of the day is a very simple one:

“Lord, whom can I encourage today?”

Then look around. Listen. Pay attention to the people God brings across your path—and even those He simply brings to your mind.

And when He does, don’t wait.

Someone you encounter today may need the encouragement God has already placed within you.