Very Early in the Morning...

In Mark 1:35 we read:  ³⁵Very 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.  We can't say based on this single verse that Jesus ALWAYS got up very early in the morning, while it was still dark, went out and found a solitary place, where he prayed, but we can say that Jesus often invested significant portions of time in prayer.  This morning when I got to the trail where I typically run and pray it was 5:45 a.m.  IT WAS DARK!  I run in the woods on a trail that's anywhere from 6-8 feet wide.  I thought to myself, "Jesus didn't run while He prayed!"  I also thought to myself, "This is the BEST time of the day to be praying."  There were absolutely no distractions during that hour of running and praying, AND I got to enjoy the day dawning.  Slowly but surely the darkness dissipated as I ran, the trees became more and more discernible along the path, eventually I could look down at my watch and see the face without pushing the "glow" button.

What's the point?  Jesus knew the best time to pray.  As someone put it, "The best time to tune your instrument is before the symphony begins."  I know we're not all morning people.  I know that for some prayer at the end of the day is BEST.  I'm not advocating that if you don't get up and pray for an hour to start off your day that you aren't like Jesus---what I am saying is that Jesus put His Heavenly Father FIRST.  However we do that, we MUST do that.  For me it is by getting up, going out away from everything and getting alone with Him.  For you it may be getting up and going to your study, or a special chair, or a quiet place on the back porch.  Wherever it is---the key is commitment and perseverence.  Not because God will put a gold star on our foreheads if we do it, not because our day will be "better" if we do it, but because God deserves the first and best of our lives--whenever and wherever that is.  After that, it's so much easier to give the rest of the day to Him.  Plan now, to start tomorrow the way Jesus did--by putting God first, and live the rest of the day TODAY that way, too!