“The prayer of a
righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)
There is an old adage that goes something like this: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man,
healthy, wealthy and wise.” Now, I’m not sure about the “healthy, wealthy and wise” part, but I
am a bit of a creature of habit when it comes to the “early to bed, early to rise” portion of this quip.
The main reason for this is that those first couple of early
morning hours, well before the sun rises and the rest of the house begins to
stir, is my favourite time of day. While the house is still quiet enough to
hear the proverbial pin drop, before my better half gets up and the dog
scratches at the door to go outside to pee, I like to curl up in my favourite
chair, coffee cup in hand, and spend some time in prayerful meditation in the
pages of my Bible.
More recently, I have undertaken as a part of my early
morning devotions to create a hand-written copy of the Bible. At the time of
this writing, I have already completed the entire New Testament and am now in
the Old Testament, nearing the end of Genesis. (For more on that, see these two
blog posts: Me as an Amanuensis: Morning Devotional's Next Level? and Morning Devotions Are Awesome Once Again).
I’m not alone in my love for the early morning devotional
lifestyle; many others throughout the ages have done likewise. Even Jesus
himself, very early in the morning, would go off somewhere by himself to a
quiet solitary place so that he could pray (Mark 1:35). “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed," says Luke 5:16.
Likewise it was Martin Luther who is quoted to have said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”
Though Luther’s quote seems like a bit of an oxymoron, I am starting to
understand the logic in it.
Getting up between 4:00 and 4:30 every morning (often before
the alarm even rings) comes with a price, however. Since I need a solid 7-8
hours sleep per night, it means I’m usually ready for bed by 8:00pm. So while
many others are just sitting down to their favourite television sitcoms, or
going out for coffee or drinks, I’m already drifting off to dreamland. Not
being much of a TV person, that’s a price that, for me personally, is easily
paid. “Early to bed, early to rise, makes
a man, healthy, wealthy and wise?” Hmm, that would be nice, but that’s not
really why I do it.
The real driving force behind my early morning ritual (“ritual,”
for lack of a better word) is that I find it easier to hear God’s still soft
voice when there are less noisy distractions to keep me from hearing Him. The
point is, I want to hear God. Before the hustle and bustle of our fast-paced
world heats up and inevitably rattles my nerves, my focus is easier tuned to
God and that which He would desire to communicate to me. When I give God the
first and best part of my day, when I am first awakened and refreshed from a
good night’s sleep, and before the workplace’s pressures of the day begin to mount,
Bible reading and prayer is the glue that ultimately holds my day together.
That’s not to say that I don’t also have stress-filled and
anxious workdays as well; the Lord knows that I do. However when such days
happen, it’s interesting to note that I’ve probably also either missed my early
morning devotions, or simply didn’t spend enough time (or any time) in prayer
at the start of the day. This is no magical formula, nor is it a simply a religious
exercise or incantation seeking to force the hand of God, but I do believe that
there is something special about the early mornings that honors God and brings about His peace for the day. And ultimately is that not what we all desire; to honor
God, and have peace-filled days? For Christians, I think it is.
Well there you have it; my reason for “Early to bed, early to rise.” It has nothing to do with being “healthy, wealthy and wise.” But it does
have everything to do with honoring God and striving to make it through yet another
day. Peace and blessings to you and yours.
__________
__________
I got up early one
morning
And rushed right into
the day;
I had so much to
accomplish,
That I didn’t have
time to pray.
Problems just tumbled
about me,
And heavier came each
task;
“Why doesn’t God help
me?” I wondered.
He answered, “You
didn’t ask.”
I wanted to see joy
and beauty,
But the day toiled on
gray and bleak;
I wondered why God
didn’t show me,
He said, “But you
didn’t seek.”
I tried to come into
God’s presence,
I used all my keys in
the lock;
God gently and
lovingly chided,
“My child, you didn’t
knock.”
I woke up early this
morning,
And paused before
entering the day;
I had so much to
accomplish,
That I had to take
time to pray.
(Anonymous)
Photo: A selfie (there was no one else up at that hour to take the picture).
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