I lived with my grandparents one summer while working construction shift work. Every third week, I would pull graveyard from 11pm-7am. I’d return to their house around 7:30, grab a quick shower and then jump into bed, exhausted from a night of manual labor in the humid Houston area heat.
But around 9am a couple of days a week I’d be suddenly awoken by a lawnmower or weed-eater just outside my window. After this happened numerous times, I asked my grandfather if he could possibly delay those chores until later in the day on weeks I worked graveyards.
I still remember his response: “A man shouldn’t be in bed at 9am.”
Did it matter that I had only been in bed for an hour? Apparently not.
All these years later, though not agreeing with the inflexibility of Pop’s application, I certainly resonate with the underlying wisdom to be gleaned. As a general rule, men (and women) should be marked by habits of discipline and hard work and rising early is one such application of that principle.
Is this a rigid law that must be followed at all times and in all places? No. But neither is it therefore simply a matter of personal preference. In fact, wisdom commends the benefits of waking early in multiple ways.
Let’s begin where we should always begin, with the Bible.
Biblical Examples of the Morning
Have you ever noticed the consistent pattern of men of God rising early in the morning? For example, we read of Abraham (Genesis 19:27, 21:14, 22:3), Isaac (Genesis 26:31), Jacob (Genesis 28:18), Moses (Exodus 8:20, 9:13, 24:4, 34:4), Joshua (3:1, 6:12, 7:16, 8:10), Ruth (Ruth 2:7, 3:14), Hannah and Elkanah, Samuel’s parents (1 Samuel 1:19), Samuel himself (1 Samuel 15:12), David (1 Samuel 17:20, 1 Samuel 29:11), Elisha and his servant (2 Kings 6:15), Ezra (Nehemiah 8:3), Job (Job 1:5), Ezekiel (Ezekiel 12:8), the Proverbial excellent wife (Proverbs 31:15), and Jesus (Matthew 21:18, Mark 1:35, Luke 21:38, John 8:2) all rising early to meet with God or do His work.
In addition, we see significant events that were accomplished in the morning. For instance, Israel gathered manna in the morning (Exodus 16:21), offered freewill offerings in the morning (Exodus 36:3), her priests lit fires every morning (Leviticus 6:12, 6:20), she repented early in the morning (Numbers 14:40), and marched around Jericho early in the morning (Joshua 6:15), and the resurrection occurred early in the morning (Matthew 28:1, Luke 24:1, 22).
Then we have all of the passages that connect a recognition of God’s character and works with the morning.
- Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. (Psalm 5:3)
- For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. (Psalm 30:5)
- God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. (Psalm 46:5)
- Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice. (Psalm 55:17)
- But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. (Psalm 59:16)
- But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. (Psalm 88:13)
- Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:14)
- I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words. My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise. (Psalm 119:147–148)
- my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. (Psalm 130:6)
- Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. (Psalm 143:8)
- The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22–23)
In addition, we have all of the various warnings against sloth, many of which are connected to sleep:
- Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread. (Proverbs 20:13)
- How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. (Proverbs 6:9–11)
- As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed. (Proverbs 26:14)
In other words, you snooze, you lose is a biblical principle even if not an exact quote.
So there is a consistent pattern in Scripture that connects the morning to worship. But how has that played out in church history?
The Tradition and Example of the Church
This pattern and principle of early mornings dedicated to Christ has been acknowledged and emulated by various Christian dignitaries. Read a great biography on a mighty saint and undoubtedly this theme will emerge.
Consider the following quotes:
- “I think Christ has recommended rising early in the morning, by his rising from the grave very early.” (Jonathan Edwards)
- “The dew of dawn should be consecrated to devotion.” (Charles Spurgeon)
- “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” (attributed to Luther, although it may have been a friend who said this about him)
- “Take it for granted, that every Christian that is in health is up early in the morning.” (William Law)
- “We ought every one of us, for the sake of regularity, to appoint particular hours which should not elapse without prayer, as, when we rise in the morning, before we enter on the business of the day…” (John Calvin)
- “Let your first thoughts be holy, and let God have your first and morning thoughts before other things have carried them away.” (Richard Baxter)
- “It is a good thing to begin the day with God.” (Matthew Henry)
- “My habit has been to retire between 8 and 9 p.m. when possible and rise at 4 a.m. This has affected a wonderful revolution for my schedule. The early hours of the day are free from distractions and interruptions, a marvelous time for study, writing, and prayer.” (R.C. Sproul)
- “It [early morning devotion] strikes the first blow in the battle of the day, instead of waiting till we are besieged from all sides.” (John Piper)
- “Although I know some people are nighthawks and some people are early-birds, I would still say for the overwhelming majority of us, we ought to develop the practice of setting aside a bit of time at the beginning of the day.” (D.A. Carson)
- “It was not easy for Mr. Taylor in his changeful life, to make time for prayer and Bible study, but he knew that it was vital. Well do the writers remember traveling with him month after month in northern China, by cart and wheelbarrow, to the poorest of inns at night. Often with only one large room for laborers and travelers alike, they would screen off a corner for their father and another for themselves, with curtains of some sort; and then after sleep at last had brought a measure of quiet they would hear a match struck and see the flicker of candlelight which told that Mr. Taylor, however weary, was pouring over the little Bible in two volumes always at hand. From two to four a.m. was the time he usually gave to prayer; the time when he could be most sure of being undisturbed to wait upon God. That flicker of candlelight has meant more to them than all they have read or heard on secret prayer; it meant reality, not preaching but practice.” (testimony of Hudson Taylor)
This pattern is so universal that I would dare say you would be hard pressed to find a significant figure (pastor, theologian, missionary) in church history who didn’t make this a general practice.
The Way of Wisdom
I’m a morning person. My general rhythm is to consecrate the first hours of my mornings to word and prayer. Most days I wake around 5:00 or 5:30, let my dog out, grab a cup of coffee and have a good hour or two before the rest of the house stirs.
But that hasn’t always been the case. Many a summer morning disappeared beneath my covers; many a weekend squandered by neglect; many a class was skipped in college because I was out partying the night before.
However, something happened at 23 that began to change the trajectory of my relationship with daybreak. First, I was gainfully employed and second, I met Christ. Those became fault lines for the eventual seismic shift to my schedule, but the process was a slow leavening. My first year as a believer my rhythm was to read and pray on my lunch break. I would find an empty corner office overlooking the Dallas skyline and spend an hour reading the Bible while eating my cup of noodles.
But eventually, as I matured, I began to rethink not only how, but also when I read. After all, there seems to be a consistent theme of dedicating the first of something to the Lord. I read of Israel dedicating the first fruits of their labors and the firstborn of the womb and of Christian dedicating the first day of the week to worship.
So why not dedicate the first portion of the day to prayer and the word?
Does this pattern function as a moral law? No. Rather, it is more like a Proverb. It’s a pattern, a principle, a norm. As a principle, it is helpful, but if applied as a universal precept, it would bind the conscience. Are there days that I miss? Sure. But, if we want to have a habituated discipline, we develop a rule even if we acknowledge the occasional exception.
The common thread isn’t that “godly people wake up before the sun.” That’s too legalistic. Rather, it is that godly men and women seek to passionately protect their ability to commune with Christ and rising early in the morning is exceptionally useful for that purpose. The Bible doesn’t teach that holiness equals waking up early to read and pray, but it does make connections that help to develop a norm.
For instance,
- Sleep is connected to laziness and laziness with folly.
- Rising early is commended as an example to emulate.
- Earnestness is related to initiative, discipline, and effort.
- Mornings correspond to priority and devotion.
In other words, when we notice these patterns we can begin to see a benefit to dedicating the first fruits of each day. Not only is dawn generally freer of distraction, but it allows you to think and pray through the particulars of your schedule, gives you spiritual nutrition to face the challenges of that day, and allows you to mortify lusts for sloth or laziness.
So this isn’t a law or rule to which all Christians are to submit. It is principle and pattern, but not a binding prescription for all people at all times. Devoting the first part of the day is one way to prioritize prayer and Scripture in your schedule, and a particularly helpful one at that. Therefore, in general, I would encourage all Christians to consider how they might imitate the pattern even while recognizing that there are exceptions to the general rule. In other words, the discipline of rising early is less than a law, but more than mere suggestion.
Perhaps your home or office allows for more undisturbed worship at lunch or after the kids are in bed. There is no shame in devoting that time as your discipline. Wisdom recognizes both the existence of general rules and norms, but also the reality that we each have different gifts, different lives, different bodies, and different needs. But the point is that you consecrate some time and aren’t simply enslaved to the day’s demands and the tyranny of the urgent.
“The old proverb declares that they who would be rich must rise early; surely those who would be rich towards God must do so.” (Charles Spurgeon)