I sat reading in the early morning light, the sound of the pouring rain, bring a soothing comfort to my soul. The words before me began to stir:
“In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.” (Mark 1:35, NASB)
The early morning hours are my favorite part of the day. When my children were still home and yet in school, the Lord began to compel me to rise early and spend time in His Word and praying for the day.
There is just something special about the darkness of the morning, the stillness, and the quiet that wraps itself around my heart and mind, preparing me for the hours ahead.
The early morning – before the needs and cares of the day press in on me. As I sit still and in the quietness, I let the Lord fill me with all I need to meet the demands of the day.
Little did I realize at the time how this habit, aka – discipline, would not only impact my life but become so deeply important. God has faithfully met me on the pages of His Word each morning I have joined Him.
My thoughts went on a bit deeper when the verse in Mark collided with another familiar verse:
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 3:10, NASB)
The question becomes – Are we walking in those good works which He has prepared for us each day?
Jesus felt compelled to meet with His Father, in the early mornings and alone, so He would be able to meet the demands of the day. The people would come to be healed, for deliverance, to be taught; and in order to fulfill His work, He needed to start the day with prayer.
May we be faithful to devote time in God’s Word and in prayer each day.
God’s Word will be like a –
time release capsule over the course of the day –
relieving, providing, and sustaining us.
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Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you. If you share on social media, the hashtag #LetsHaveCoffee would be greatly appreciated!
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
Today I am joining …
I’m not naturally a morning person, yet I have found that’s the best time for me to meet with the Lord. I love the quietness of that time of day. I like that image of God’s Word as a time-release capsule.
That image has helped me to grab hold of the importance of those early morning hours and their help throughout the rest of the day.
I cherish my quiet time with God each morning, too! I especially love it when the weather warms up enough to enjoy it on the back porch where I can watch the sun rise. I feel prepared for the day and ready to take on all that comes my way.
I so agree, Anita, morning time outside holds a special quality all its own.
I love the quietness of early morning too. I used to pop out of bed and get started, but now I like to linger in the stillness too.
I am definitely a morning person. Early birds….you know the rest!
Morning by morning…
I love beginning the day with Truth, and that’s my preference, but a couple days lately it’s been impractical, so I plunked down on the couch in the evening and found, to my surprise that it was also delightful. Maybe I will learn flexibility one day…?
I love the idea of flexibility or the truth that God loves time with us any time of day.
Joanne, such good truths here. I wasn’t always a “morning person”, especially when I was a young woman, but for the last 20 years or so, I simply adore mornings, the earlier the better! I get up every day at 4:30 am for work, and just this morning as I scanned the slightest tints of pink and lavender on the horizon, I smiled big and realized mornings are when I feel closest to God and I would never give that up!!
Donna, you rise even earlier than me. I so agree, I never want to give it up.
The “dark” of morning is something I rarely see unless you are talking about the hours between midnight and 3;30am. That’s when I often have insomnia. But I do prefer time with God in my version of early. If other commitments push it too late, I feel unsettled.
Oh Lauren, insomnia has to make your days so difficult. It also presents no difficulty for God, who will meet with us whenever we come before Him.
Joanne, we are much alike in this way … I’ve always loved being up before my girls, and there’s no better time for me to spend reading my Bible and in prayer than before the sun rises. If I tried to do it later, I would be completely unable to focus, even if nobody else was home. 🙂
Lois, I am the same. Later on, my mind wanders and distractions get in the way.
Beautiful post Joanna. I too love the quiet of early morning for my prayer and journal time. If for some reason its disrupted, I feel out of sorts and less peaceful the rest of the day. Your words about God’s words being a time release capsule is a lovely way to describe that. Definitely comfort for our soul throughout the day. Blessings to you and your readers.