I have never been one to enjoy getting up early, and the only reason I saw in getting up early was to go to work. I used to have to force myself to get up in the morning and oftentimes I would hit the snooze button because I did not see any benefits to getting up early.

When I would have bad days or just felt the day would be tough, I opted to pull the covers over my head and go back to bed. There are times that we do need a little extra sleep, but I did this everything I did not want to face the day.

Most days I would get up right before getting started on my work or going out the door, I would feel rushed and in a hurry; which in turn made me feel anxious. I had little time to spend with God, pray, or just sit in the presence of God.

God began to speak to me about getting up early and how He would help me to do this since I did not believe that I could. I started getting up earlier every day, first it was 6:30am, then 6:15am until I finally was able to reach 5am.

Just getting up early for no reason will not motivate you to get up early. You must have goals for wanting to get up earlier. One of my goals for desiring to get up early is that I wanted to have a deep intercessory prayer life. I began to look up scriptures about what the Word of God says about the early riser.

I rise before dawn and cry for help: I wait for your Words. Psalm 119: 147

In the early morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. Mark 1:35

In the morning, O Lord, you will hear my voice, in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch. Psalm 5:3

Rising early as a Christian can have many benefits other than work productivity:

1. There is usually silence early in the morning. You can be free of noise and distractions so that you can hear what Holy Spirit wants to speak to you. There is usually peace and quiet early in the morning.
2. You can have the time for intercessory prayer and have the time to listen what God wants you to pray about.
3. You will reap the benefits of having a disciplined spiritual life as well being disciplined in other areas of your life.
4. You can get your focus on the Kingdom of God instead of by-passing this time and leaving yourself feeling stressed or anxious about the day.
5. You have time to journal or write out what God is speaking to you.
6. You are more prepared for your day as God often gives instructions to you as you spend alone time with Him.
7. You can give the enemy a “blackeye” before he has a chance to wreak havoc on your day by devoting this time to strategic warfare prayers.

Ask the Lord if there would be any benefits to you rising early and what those be. As you transition to getting up earlier, you won’t feel like it initially; but this is where you are learning to be disciplined. Start off slowly and work your way up to your desired time to get up. Write down the benefits you are seeing as you get up early as a way to keep you motivated.

Stephanie R. Reck, LMSW, LBT, BCCC
Stephanie Reck, Coaching & Consultation Services
www.stephaniereck.com
[email protected]
Stephanie Reck Coaching & Consultation Services, @2024
Author of, "Disciplining Your Mind 30 Days to a Better You!"