A new day, new battles. Actually, one battle that assumes different forms: I Want vs. I Should. The day’s first battlefield is your bed, and the first shot is fired when the alarm clock rings. I Want reaches out to hit the snooze button; I Should is ready to jump out of bed and take on another day.
That’s why the first instruction in the Code of Jewish Law is: “Be strong as a lion when you wake up in the morning to serve your Creator.” Because if you win this battle, the rest are lamb chops.
Now verbalize it:
מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ חַי וְקַיָּם, שֶׁהֶחֱזַרְתָּ בִּי נִשְׁמָתִי בְּחֶמְלָה. רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ.
Modeh anee lefanecha melech chai vekayam, she-he-chezarta bee nishmatee b’chemla, raba emunatecha. (Click here for audio of a Modeh Ani song.)
I offer thanks to You, living and eternal King, for You have mercifully restored my soul within me; Your faithfulness is great.
These are the first words we utter every morning—while still lying in bed. Our first conscious moments are spent thanking G‑d for the gift of life. It doesn’t matter what we did yesterday or last night; nothing can taint those first innocent words that sit at our primal consciousness.
Still having a problem dragging yourself out of bed? Use your imagination. Picture yourself lying there while a king or head of state stands above you, waiting for you to get your act together to execute some critical mission.
Well, it isn’t a king or president. It is the one who creates kings, presidents, and the entire world at every moment—and you too. Again. Today.
Do we recite Modeh Ani if we wake up prematurely, perhaps due to sleeping restlessly, and intend to try to continue sleeping? What about after a daytime nap?
The general practice is that Modeh Ani is said upon waking up in the morning after a major sleep, when one intends to start the day. If a person wakes up prematurely and intends to try to continue sleeping, the custom is not to recite Modeh Ani, as the moment of waking that marks the beginning of the day is considered more significant. The idea is that Modeh Ani is a prayer of gratitude for the soul being returned for the day ahead, so if one is merely waking temporarily and going back to sleep, the custom to say it does not typically apply at that moment.
Regarding naps, the common custom is not to recite Modeh Ani after naps. This is because the prayer is connected to returning the soul at the main awakening in the morning and does not apply to naps during the day.
If I wake up more than a half hour before my alarm goes off, I recite the Modeh Ani in thought,
sometimes Psalms 121, hoping I fall back to sleep and that usually works, but if less than a half hour before alarm then I get up, take a drink of water and verbally recite the Modeh Ani, followed immediately by the Shema. and not after a nap, just when we wake up in the morning.
This is routine for me, and it works! Give this a try Tzvi, hope it works for you and Shalom.
Shalom Israel. Baruch HaShem