I have developed a pattern to my mornings that have helped me to be more focused and intentional. I have not always been a morning person, but having been challenged to get up and read the Bible and pray at a men’s retreat quite a few years back, set me on a pathway of more discipline and intention. I now treasure my early mornings. So here are five things that form the start of most of my days.
1. Reading the Bible
I often will do a Bible reading plan through in a year. I have gone faster or slower. I like to vary the version. I like to vary the pace. But every morning, I spend time reading God’s Word in some systematic way. Occasionally I have read a devotional book, but to be honest, nothing can replace just time spent in the Word listening for what God wants to speak into the start of my day.
2. Prayer
My morning prayer also has taken on many forms over the years, but most recently, it takes on the form of writing out a prayer that corresponds with my Bible reading. It may be a prayer for me, for the church, for my family, or any combination of these. But it always is a prayer that flows out of the thing that God has pressed on my heart through my Bible reading.
3. Coffee
I have recently been into doing a pour-over coffee every morning for Linda and I . There is something calming and peaceful in the early morning going through the routine of making a good cup of coffee. Despite the fact that this might not appear to be a spiritual reason to get up in the morning. I really do enjoy it. And I regularly find myself thankful to God for it.
4. Posting a Passage
A couple of years back I downloaded an app that I can use to create graphics from photos and text. I find it helpful for me to take whatever passage impacts me from my daily reading and make a graphic. It forces my mind to remain creative. I usually will post those graphics that I make to Facebook. I share them, with the hope that my social media account will maybe encourage or challenge someone else in the way I have been encouraged or challenged by the Word.
5. News and Sudoku
I must be getting old. But I usually read the USA Today headlines from the app and I do their online Sudoku most mornings. This often gives me more to pray about as I launch out into my day. And I like the challenge of trying to beat my best times on the Sudokus.
My morning routine is NOT for everyone. I don’t share it here to presume that anyone really needs to know how I spend my early mornings. But I would love it if sharing this blog encouraged anyone towards more spiritual discipline with their early morning. I do not do these things as mere habit. I don’t do them because I feel like I gain spiritual bonus points from God. I do them because I find them to be a beneficial connecting point with God at the start of my day.
What routines have you developed to spend time with God?
