Saturday, January 30, 2010

In the Early Morning

Those that seek me early shall find me. (Proverbs 8:17)

Early in my Christian experience, I attended a missionary training program run by an organization called Youth with a Mission (YWAM). It was known as DTS, meaning Discipleship Training Program- it was five months in a tight-knit Christian community.

We lived a large house- eating our meals together, working together, praying together and attended daily Bible teachings together. When the program started, we were given a daily schedule- for example what time meals were served, what work duties or chores were expected of us, and what times we’d attend Bible teaching. The school’s director also recommended we take at least 30 minutes every morning to have our own personal devotions. He recommended we devote the time to reading our Bible, meditating on what we read and praying. He also suggested we listen to hear what God might be saying to us.

So every morning, we were awakened, and shortly thereafter started our devotional time. Since we lived in close quarters, we had to be somewhat creative to find a secluded place. We found various places on the property. My spot was the backyard, near the garden.

To be totally honest, at first I didn’t enjoy this part of our daily schedule. It felt awkward to read my Bible and pray all alone, especially being outside away from other students. But when fellow students later shared what God revealed to them in their “quiet time”, it sparked a godly jealousy (if there is such a thing). Basically I wanted to know the Lord like they did. I decided to earnestly pursue this idea of having early morning devotions.

As I soon discovered, spending time with God was the absolute highlight of my day. Instead of seeing daily devotions as something performed out of duty, I realized this was a blessed opportunity to spend time with God, to hear His voice, and to know Him better.

Over the years I’ve found 30 minutes isn’t enough. The time has grown in length. And my body clock has adjusted accordingly. I normally take 15 to 30 minutes to wake-up, then another 60 minutes for my devotions. Only then do I start getting ready for work. Sixty minutes might sound a bit extreme, but it works well for me. And to tell you the truth, now I can’t even imagine starting my day without a quiet time as my first priority.

Even Jesus was known to wake early, so He could spend time with His Heavenly Father.

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:16)

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)


You might think getting up early isn’t doable, that you need more sleep than most people. That might be true, but you could at least try to give the Lord more time in the mornings. Try setting your alarm 15 minutes earlier, then once you get used to that, try setting it back another 15 minutes. And if that’s not working, you might try going to bed earlier.

Almost everyone has some extra time in their day. Meeting with God (having regular devotions) is an essential part of the Christian life. For me, meeting with God in the early morning hours is equally as essential. Just think of early morning devotions this way..

Do you want to give God what little time is left over in your busy day? Or do you want to give Him the first fruits? How would you feel if your spouse only spent time with you when they didn’t have anything else better to do? What if they spent all their time playing games, listening to music or watching television, and very rarely spent time talking to you? Would you feel slighted? Most people would feel, not only slighted, but very hurt.

Unfortunately there are literally thousands of Christians treating God the same way. They might spend 5 minutes reading their Bible. They offer a quick prayer to bless their family as they’re driving to work. They may even think God is happy with them for doing so.

In reality, God is calling out to them, longing to have fellowship with them. He wants to share His heart with them, to share rich treasures from His Word.. But sadly, His children are usually too busy. They’re like I was, far too busy to listen for that “still small voice”.

If you’re not currently giving God very much quality time, please consider changing your habits. I say that in the most loving terms. It’s an encouragement to taste and see that the Lord is good.

Forgive me Lord

Forgive me Lord for sins long past, and those for which I haven't asked. Forgive me when I neglect to pray; instead, desiring my own way...