The Practice of Early Rising

Beep! Beep!  Beep!  I lay in bed, eyes glued shut.  After a few seconds, I pushed the obnoxious snooze button for the third time that morning and rolled over in bed.

This is a classic example of a habit many of us have formed: slothfulness.  We often sleep in past the time our body needs for rejuvenation.  We are slaves to our bodies, not slaves to the Lord.  A wise woman once said, "How much a person loves the Lord can be judged primarily by the way he chooses between his bed and the Lord. Do you love your bed or the Lord more? If you love your bed more, you sleep a little longer. If you love the Lord more, you rise up a little earlier."

There are many examples in the Bible of early risers:

1. Abraham—Gen. 19:27; 21:14; 22:3
2. Jacob—Gen. 28:18
3. Moses—Exo. 8:20; 9:13; 24:4; 34:4
4. Joshua—Josh. 3:1; 6:12; 7:16; 8:10
5. Gideon—Judg. 6:38
6. Hannah—1 Sam. 1:19
7. Samuel—1 Sam. 15:12
8. David—1 Sam. 17:20
9. Job—Job 1:5
10. Mary—Luke 24:22; Mark 16:9; John 20:1
11. The apostles—Acts 5:21

These were great men and women of faith, and they all arose early.  Let us take note of their example.  They denied the flesh and as a result, they prospered. They placed Jesus as their highest priority.  They loved Him more than they loved appeasing their body.  So should we.

Arising early has many spiritual and physical (so I am told) benefits.  Watchman Nee highlighted some of the spiritual blessings of spending the early morning hours with the Lord: “Those who rise up early in the morning reap much spiritual benefit. Their prayers at other times of the day cannot be compared with their prayers in the early morning. Their Bible reading at other times of the day cannot be compared with their reading in the early morning. Their fellowship with the Lord at other times cannot be compared with their fellowship in the early morning.”

Here are a few practical tips for rising early to help get you started.

-Don’t set your standard too high.  Don’t start getting up at 3 or 4 in the morning.  You’ll soon wear out.  Pick a time that is 30 minutes to an hour before your usually rise right now.

-Go to bed at a reasonable time.  You don’t need to watch that movie or stay up reading that book.  You can excuse yourself from the table a little early.  You have an important commitment to keep with the King of kings.  It is more than worth going to bed a little early.

-If you find it hard to break the pattern of hitting the snooze button, I suggest putting your alarm clock out of easy reach. Yes, it will be a little inconvenient, but it will work.  Because of the positioning of my room, I have to physically get out of bed in order to turn off the alarm, and once I’m up, it’s easier to stay up.

-Have a plan.  You want to have a game plan for your time with the Lord so that your thoughts do not become distracted.  What do you want to read? What passage of Scripture are you doing to study?  This will help you stay awake and focused.

Time spent with the Lord in the early morning is never wasted. Instead, it reaps great rewards.  It is the guide for the rest of your day.  It puts you in perspective and keeps your eyes fixed on the King of kings.  And most of all, our Savior loves to have us sit with Him in the early morning hours.  He is just waiting for us.  He is longing to see us and to talk with us.  Let us meet Him alone in the morning and grow deeper in our knowledge of the greatness of our God.