Early In The Morning My Faith Will Rise To Thee
“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35).
One of the best ways to meet the Lord is to get up early in the morning before the day’s activities can interfere. This was apparently the practice of Jesus Himself.
There are also many other instances in the Bible: “Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD” (Genesis 19:27). In order to set up an altar, “Jacob rose up early in the morning” (Genesis 28:18). When Moses gave the people the laws of God, he “wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the hill” (Exodus 24:4). Later, when he was to receive the commandments a second time, “Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto Mount Sinai” (Exodus 34:4). “Joshua rose early in the morning” to lead Israel over the Jordan, and then to capture Jericho; and to take Ai, “Joshua rose up early in the morning” (Joshua 3:1; 6:12; 8:10).
During the time of the Judges, Gideon “rose up early on the morrow” to prove God’s will by putting out the fleece (Judges 6:38). Hannah and Elkanah, while praying for the son who would later become Samuel, “rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD” (1 Samuel 1:19).
No doubt there are justifiable exceptions, but generally, going to bed late is not a good habit. “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? . . . he that sleeps in harvest is a son that causes shame” (Proverbs 6:9; 10:5). It is good to seek the Lord early each day. “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me” (Proverbs 8:17). “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto you, and will look up” (Psalm 5:3).
Early-morning prayer strikes the first blow in the battle of the day, instead of waiting till we are besieged from all sides. What we do daily and early shapes the spirit of our minds and brings us into a disposition of humility and trust that will bear better fruit than anxiety or self-reliance. Because the beginning of the day with the Word of God is crucial, prayer is equally important since the Word will not reveal its best wonders without prayer: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Ps. 119:18).
It is uncanny how Satan can use even good things to squeeze prayer out of our scheduled lives. If we miss the early-morning hour, I have seen it again and again, and I tell myself, “I will give some time to prayer later,” but it generally does not happen.
Be Blessed.
Dr. Robert Bryant