I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Proverbs 8:17
What you do in the morning sets the tone for the entire day. Whether or not you realize it, you have a morning routine. Not having a set routine is the same as having one. You can either wander around your house aimlessly, browsing through your phone, sipping coffee, watching Netflix, OR you can plan what your ideal morning looks like. Keep reading to find your own perfect morning routine!
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As followers of Christ, we are called to be intentional with our time. The bible tells us to “Always be prepared to give an answer… for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). The only way you can do this is by being intentional in setting time aside for God.
Related post: Slow Living, the amazing truth about finding your rest in God.
One of the most famous verses for having a daily morning time with Jesus is found in Mark 1:35: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed”. This verse has a few key points for us to take with us.
Learning from Jesus
Early in the morning
Jesus started his day off early. He was intentional about getting up before the distractions of this world to pray and talk to his father. But Jesus was not alone. The bible accounts 44 times when others got up early in the morning. In fact, in Exodus, the Lord tells Moses to get up early in the morning (Exodus 8:20). And in 1 Samuel you see a group of people rising early in the morning and going out to worship the Lord (1 Samuel 1:19).
Although getting up before the distractions of this crazy life will help you to have beneficial time with Jesus, it is important to note that not every season of your life will or should look this way. There are many examples in the Bible where God tells a specific person to get up early, and there are many other places where someone decides on their own to get up early. However, there is no universal command to every believer that we must get up early to spend time with God.
God desires your heart, not your checklist.
Jesus went to a solitary place
Part of having a relationship with God means that it has to be personal. Going to church is great, and participating in small groups is even better, but God desires a personal relationship with you. Matthew 6:6 talks about being alone to pray, stating “when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” God cares about your heart; he wants to know you in the secret places as well as the public ones. He wants to share that with you.
Related post: How to pray the Lord’s prayer over your life
On a funny note, God seems to know that as humans we want others to see what should be done in the quiet of our hearts. Proverbs 27:14 says “If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.” Make sure you are courteous of your neighbors if you want to blast worship music before the sun is up.
Jesus left the house
Part of our calling as Christians is to go into all the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). You can’t share the good news of God unless you also leave the house.
Another aspect of this is to also include some kind of physical exercise into your morning routine. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 talks of our body as a temple of God. We are supposed to honor God with our bodies. One of the ways to do that is to maintain a healthy lifestyle and exercise.
How to construct your perfect morning routine
1. Find how much total time you have each morning
First, think about the time you have in the morning to devote to your perfect morning routine. Do you have 20 minutes or 2 hours before you need to leave the house and get on with your day?
2. List the things you would like to accomplish during your perfect morning routine
Once you know how much total time you have, think about how you want to split up the time. Is making breakfast part of your routine? Do you shower and do makeup every morning? What about working out?
3. Organize your morning schedule
Now that you know your time allotment and have a list of what you would like to accomplish, see how it all fits together. Perhaps you want to start the morning with a workout, followed by a shower and then time spent with God. Or maybe you want to start with your Jesus time before making breakfast. Whatever the case, list out the order that you want to follow for your morning routine.
4. Make sure your times line up
The last thing you want to do is make sure that you have not over or under-scheduled your time. Think about how much time each activity usually takes you, and then make sure that you have enough total time to fit everything in. Maybe you need to cut something out completely or dedicate more time to an activity. Whatever the case, your morning routine has more of a chance of being successful when you have a realistic goal for each piece.
5. Reevaluate your perfect morning routine often
More often than not, the first morning routine you come up with will not work out. During the first day or week you may notice that something is not working. Don’t be afraid to rearrange your routine and dedicate more or less time to make it fit you.
How to keep God first in your perfect morning routine
When setting up your routine, be mindful of how much time you have to dedicate to God each morning.
If you have 5-10 minutes to spend with God, you can start by completing a plan on the bible app (youversion). Most take a few minutes each day as they guide you though a topic in scripture.
If you have a few extra minutes, I recommend reading through the entire Bible during the year. Even though it sounds like a big task, it evens out to about 3 chapters a day and takes about 15 minutes. This is a great starting point for your morning if you are not used to doing anything consistently.
If you want to dig a little deeper and plan to spend 30-60 minutes each morning with God, you can split up your time into different components. You could start in prayer for 5-10 minutes, read scripture for 10-20, journal for 10-20, and pray or read a small devotional to finish up your time.
Tips for making your perfect morning routine stick
Think about what works for you. What are some of your goals in spending daily time with God? Ponder this as you write down a rough draft of what your time will look like. Remember that it is okay to change your routine as you figure out what works and what doesn’t work for you.
Is it realistic?
Make sure that whatever routine you decide to follow is realistic. If you want to spend an hour with God in the morning, do you have to wake up earlier? A good morning starts with a good night’s rest. Be honest with yourself with how much sleep you need each night. If you need a full eight hours to wake up feeling refreshed, make sure you can get yourself to bed in time to get your sleep and wake up for your Jesus time.
Be consistent
Now that you know the WHY of having a morning Jesus time, and you have a realistic plan to do so, make sure that you remain consistent in coming to Jesus every day. 1 Chronicles 23:30 says “they were also to stand EVERY morning to thank and praise the Lord.” Every morning requires consistency. It will be hard, but it will be worth it.
Remember, God loves you and desperately wants to have a relationship with you. God is waiting for you with open arms. It is up to you, and only you, to deepen your relationship with God.
Additional verses about rising early in the morning:
Genesis 31:55a Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them.
Exodus 16:7a and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord.
Psalm 5:3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly.
Psalm 59:16 But I will sing of your strength,
in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.
Psalm 88:13 But I cry to you for help, Lord;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Psalm 90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Psalm 143:8 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 entrust my life.
Isaiah 26:9 My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.
Isaiah 33:2 Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.
Lamentations 3:22-23 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.
Ezekiel 12:8 In the morning the word of the Lord came to me.
Luke 21:38 And all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.
