Do you love mornings? I have never considered myself a true morning person. In fact, I have always envied those people who seem to rise cheerfully “a great while before day.” Yet the older I get, the more the quiet of the early morning hours means to me. I have come to realize the power of the morning hours. A few extra minutes in the morning and the right priorities can make a world of difference in the entire day. Early this morning (as I tried to get myself awake) I read a few thoughts written by Oswald Chambers on the importance of mornings.

Oswald Chambers wrote:

“Specific times and places and communion with God go together. It is by no haphazard chance that in every age men have risen early to pray. The first thing that marks decline in spiritual life is our relationship to the early morning…When we are in touch with the earnestness of things, we begin soon…If you have ever prayed in the dawn you will ask yourself why you were so foolish as not to do it always: it is difficult to get into communion with God in the midst of the hurly-burly of the day…It is not simply that it is easier to get direction in the early morning, it is a profound revelation that that is the time when direction comes.”

It is unreasonable to think that everyone will love mornings! But it is realistic that those who love the Lord will want to give even their mornings to God. Increasingly, I am convinced that the first ten minutes of the day are often the most important. They set the tone for the rest of the day. Many mornings, God has spoken to me about something before I even got out of bed!

In addition to reading and meditation on the Word of God, may I offer a few suggestions?

9 Suggestions For Making the Most of Mornings 

Prepare the night before.

The Jewish day actually started at 6:00 in the evening. This is why in the Hebrew mind a day always consisted of “the evening and the morning” – in that order. To make the most of the morning, begin at night. Quiet your heart before the Lord. Lay out your clothes. Gather all that you need for the new day. Get in bed at a decent time and allow yourself to rest. Do not deal with “heavy” matters at night if at all possible.

Meditate on some good thing about the Lord before you even get out of bed.

Now, this does not mean stay in bed! (“Meditation” can be another word for an extra ten minutes of sleep.) Work at directing your first thoughts toward God. Breathe a prayer for His blessing on the day. Give yourself to God as you rise. Martin Luther was remembered for famously saying, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” How opposite the way most of us think! Perhaps we will not spend three hours in prayer, but could we spend a few minutes?

Speak to God first.

A friend once said to me that it was his practice not to speak to any man in the morning until first he had spoken to the Lord. David wrote in Psalm 5:3, “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” Most people look at their phones as soon as they awake. We look in the mirror. We look at the news. We look at our schedule. But the man after God’s own heart said that the first place he looked each morning was up. Look to the Lord, and your whole outlook on the day will be different.

Build silence and praise into your morning routine.

God does speak in the silence. Have some time each morning for quiet time in the Scriptures. “Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee” (Psalm 143:8). On the other hand, “make a joyful noise unto the Lord!” Sing. I know you do not feel like it! Join the club. Sing anyway. “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High; To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night” (Psalm 92:1-2). Listen to music that honors Christ and lifts your heart to Him. Too often, the noise of the alarm clock and a grumble are the first sounds of the morning.

Do not just get up, get awake.

This is different for everyone. Go on a walk or a run. Get the blood circulating. Take a shower. Get dressed. Have breakfast. Drink a cup of coffee, or two, or three…Figure out a way to get your mind functioning!

Pray for definite things.

Away with general, generic prayers! Ask the Lord for specific things for you and for others. Expect to see answers to prayer. Begin your day with faith in God and seek to live that way all day. E.M Bounds wrote, “The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day.”Charles Spurgeon wisely observed, “The morning is the gate of the day and must be well grounded with prayer. He who would rush from the bed to the business is like he who has not washed or dressed.”

Pray as you dress for the day.

Each morning as you lay aside your garments from the night, ask the Lord to help you lay aside every sin and weight that would hinder the day. As you dress for the day, use those moments to talk to Christ. Declare your dependence on Him alone. Invite Him to cover every part of your life with His character. Dressing for the day can become a reminder of your need for Christ.

Read a few paragraphs of a book.

A nugget from a devotional can be the very thing that feeds your soul throughout the demands of the day. Spend a few moments thinking about the day ahead and considering how you can apply one principle that will make the day more of what God intended for it to be.

Spend some time with your family.

It may be around the breakfast table or in the car on the morning commute. It is important that the day begin with peace. Talk to one another. Speak kindly. Have a prayer together for the day, if possible. Let the last words you speak be meaningful. “I love you” is a powerful thing.

As a boy, I remember reading this little poem. The author is unknown, but the truth is one we all can relate to…

I got up early one morning
and rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish
that I didn’t have time to pray.
Problems just tumbled about me,
and heavier came each task.
“Why doesn’t God help me?” I wondered.
He answered, “You didn’t ask.”
I wanted to see joy and beauty,
but the day toiled on, gray and bleak;
I wondered why God didn’t show me.
He said, “But you didn’t seek.”
I tried to come into God’s presence;
I used all my keys at the lock.
God gently and lovingly chided,
“My child, you didn’t knock.”
I woke up early this morning,
and paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish
that I had to take time to pray.

Every morning will not be the same.  But every morning can be given to God with a desire that every moment of the day will count for Him. The morning really does set the pace. Try these suggestions for yourself…and remember to make the most of your mornings!

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About Scott Pauley