An early quiet time (and my Pinterest habit)…

And I–in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. Psalm 17:14

A dear friend came over on Monday and confessed her desire to wake up in the mornings to spend time with the Lord.  She wishes she had a routine of having a consistent early quiet time.

She has four children.  Her youngest still nursing. And she is T I R E D.   Tired.

And although she has legitimate reason to be tired and, by all means, sleep in every morning, especially when one of her littles crawls in bed at 5 AM, all warm and cozy with footy pajamas, she knows that another kind of “warm and cozy” awaits her over a cup of coffee with the Lord.

But the distance from the bed to the floor is a good 4 miles. And the bed has magnetic force.

Mamas are you feeling this?

I am.  Mornings are hard for mamas {and daddies too}.  Sleep is oh, so good.  And needed.

So what is the balance?  When do we know it is time to bite the bullet and get up?  What does God say about meeting with Him in the “morning”?

Well, a lot…

Because of the LORD’S great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning.  Great is your faithfulness.  Lamentations 3:22-23

Ezekiel writes, “In the morning the Word of the Lord came to me. Ezekiel 12:8

In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land; I will cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD. Psalm 101:8

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Psalm 143:8

Early in the morning [Jesus] came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. John 8:2

There are a few trends I see in these passages.  Do you see them, too?

1.  We hear!  The Psalmist, David and Ezekiel all write about their ability to “hear” in the morning.  I love Ezekiel 12:8, “The Word of the Lord came to me.”  I’ll be the first to admit, I hear from God better in the morning.  And there is one reason for this…IT IS QUIET.  Hallelujah!  Quiet.  My soul is quiet.  My house is quiet.  My boys are quiet (only because they are asleep). My to-do list is not screaming at me (yet).  The morning allows for fewer distractions so I can hear from my God. Pretty simple.

2.  Battle begins early.Every morning I put to silence all the wicked. Psalm 101:8.  The enemy does not rest.  The war for my affection begins first thing.  It is crucial for me to gird myself for battle ASAP.  This world wants my attention.  My money.  My thoughts.  And….Pinterest wants my quiet time!!  Yep.  I said it.  The battle for me is as simple as Pinterst.  I am not saying Pinterest is the devil, but nothing can suck an hour of my time quicker than pinning boards.  I could start a Pinterst Anonymous club.  I’d be President.  Anyone out there my VP?!  I mean it.  I have to sometimes MAKE MYSELF shut the computer and open my Bible. Ugh.  That is ugly to admit.  But, bless God, Jesus is better than Pinterest.

3.  Jesus did it.  Scripture records that often times He would rise early for prayer.  Or here in John 8, He woke and went straight to the Temple.  AND TAUGHT HIS PEOPLE.  We have the same opportunity.  To enter in His prescence first thing, to sit down with Him and be instructed by His Word.  To hear Him speak to us in worship.  To lay our soul’s bare in prayer.  He is faithful to meet us.  He has yet to stand me up for coffee.  Nor will he ever.  He waits for me every morning.  Right here at our “spot.” Love it.

OK. OK.  Fine and dandy.  But what if you aren’t a morning person!?  What if, no matter how hard you have tried, you just can’t get up.  Are you void all of these blessings?  Absolutely not.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. James 4:8

Every effort you make towards the Father, He will meet you.  Morning, mid-day or night.

No exclusions.

The pursuit of God is what’s important.  Not the time of day.  But, for me, it is morning.  Because if I don’t have my quiet time first thing, it will not happen.  My boys need too much and the rush of the day wins.

So…If you long to have a morning quiet time I encourage you to commit to it!  Ask a friend to hold you accountable.  Ask someone to  send you a text message or simply PRAY for you to get out of bed!!  Set your coffee maker to brew at a certain time.  Train your body to get up!  Research shows it takes any where from 21-28 days to form a habit.  Give yourself time!  Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t hopping out of bed singing Amazing Grace week one {smile}.

Leave a comment:  Have you become a “morning” person?  What helped you get into the routine?

And if you aren’t an early riser, what is your quiet time routine?  How has the Lord helped you establish your QT?

Lord, give us all a desire to enter into Your presence.  Thank You that you will always draw near to us, when we draw near to you.  We love you, Lord {so much more than Pinterst!}.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

Picture by Jen Dalton