THE MORNING WATCH

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He [Jesus] got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there" (Mark 1:35). It is an exciting thought that spiritual staleness need not be so. Spiritual freshness is available to us all; and on a daily basis. Maintaining it, however, does not mean that we will be exempt from having to face occasional trials and difficulties. It means, rather, that no matter how dry and difficult our circumstances, our experience of God can remain fresh and vibrant. What, then, is the first principle of maintaining spiritual freshness? Establish a daily quiet time with God in order to replenish your spiritual resources. Some modern-day Christians balk at this idea. They say, “The Lord is with us all the time. Why do we need to fence off a particular part of the day to spend time with Him? A daily quiet time can soon bring one into legalism.” I am well aware of this danger, but again I say - it need not be so. There have been periods in my own life when my quiet time was nothing more than a ritual, but that was more a consequence than a cause. The best period for a quiet time, in my opinion, is in the morning, before the day starts. Some prefer the evening or perhaps - as in the case of busy mothers and wives - the late morning is better, when the family has left and the house is quiet. Each must establish the best time according to preference or convenience. I'm merely saying that a certain time of the day ought not to belong to the day, but to the getting of resources for the day. Start the day right and you will end it right. Prayer: O God, help me to see that just as I need to take time each day to feed myself physically, so I also daily need to take time to feed myself spiritually. Help me not just to acknowledge this, but to act on it. In Christ's Name I pray. Amen. [Every Day with Jesus Bible, with Devotions by Selwyn Hughes, Holman Bible Publishers, 2004].