Mark 1:35 – Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
Have you ever been camping, or got up early to go on a journey at the start of a vacation when you wake up just before the sun begins to rise and brighten everything up? What a beautiful, exhilarating experience it is! It is really the time of day I love the best, because it is usually so quiet and peaceful except for the birds chattering in the trees.
As I just sit and watch everything come slowly to life and the world becoming brighter and brighter, the same thing happens to my spirit. It begins to come to life, and I feel a very real presence of the Lord.
Jesus was in the habit of doing just this, long before the day started. He went to spend time with His Father in fellowship, getting direction for the day, and being encouraged and strengthened for the tasks ahead. Consider how successful He was. John says at the end of his gospel that the world could probably not contain all the books written of the things He did. Those things that are recorded are just a drop in the ocean of what He accomplished while He walked on the earth, and He couldn't have done it without the early time of fellowship.
If you want to be successful for the Lord and accomplish more and more and have a greater degree of victory over the enemy in your life, why not try and get up earlier and spend time with Him in the peace of the day? I've found with myself, if for one or other reason I cannot get up early enough to spend time with the Lord, the day seems to be so lacking and miserable.
Instead of peace from the Lord I often feel miserable, and the abundant life the Lord promised us just doesn't seem to be there. On the other hand, when I am able to start off the day in His presence and look to Him for strength and direction for the day, everything just seems to fall into place without difficulty, and I accomplish a whole lot more than normal.
I began to wonder if this was just my imagination, but the Lord encouraged me to do some research to see if it was true or not. I browsed through a concordance and was amazed to find how many successful men of God were early risers and sought the Lord at the first light of day. Consider these people and what they did:
Adam and Eve - met with the Lord daily in the garden and were guided and directed by Him.
Jacob - rose early to worship the Lord and build an altar to him on the way to meet Laban.
Joshua - rose early to prepare for crossing the Jordan, and on each day they walked round the walls of Jericho. He also got up early in the morning on the day he destroyed Achan after he had brought a curse of them.
Gideon - rose early before defeating the Midianites.
Hannah - prayed and worshiped early in the morning and the Lord granted her her desire for a son, giving her Samuel.
David - rose early before he defeated Goliath.
Isaiah - he says he sought the Lord early so that he could speak effectively and cause the people on earth to become righteous.
I love the words of Psalm 57:8. David says, "I will awaken the dawn." In other words, he's going to rise before the dawn and wake it up with worship and praise. He says in another Psalm (63:1) that he, "...will seek the Lord early." He was called a man after God's heart. Look at what he accomplished, and he was just a simple shepherd in the early days before he was anointed King of Israel. We have the Lord himself dwelling in us by His Spirit. Surely we can do much more than they could?
Do you want the Lord's blessing and presence in your day? Do you want to look to Him Lord for direction and share with Him your desires and aspirations? Do you need to get rid of enemies in your life? Rise up early. It is your key to success!
