Plan a Time

To choose to sit at Jesus’ feet we need to deal with distractions and develop a plan.
 
“Many good things do not happen in our lives for the simple lack of planning” explains John Piper. “Most Christians neglect their Bibles not out of conscious disloyalty to Jesus, but because of failure to plan a time and place and method to read it.”
 
So do you have a time, a place, and a method?
 
Let’s talk about time.
 
There is no law in the Bible that dictates when to have a quiet time. In fact, we are to meditate on God’s Word day and night! However, there is biblical encouragement for rising early to seek the Savior.
 
Consider the psalmist who directs his prayer to the Lord in the morning and then watches for the answer (Ps. 5:3). The Proverbs 31 woman is famous for rising “while it is yet night” to provide food for her family. Finally, and most notably, Jesus himself rose early to pray. Mark 1:35 records, “Rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, [Jesus] departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”

Referring to Bible reading and prayer, John Piper again offers this advice:

“I earnestly recommend that it be in the early morning, unless there are some extenuating circumstances. Entering the day without a serious meeting with God, over his Word and in prayer, is like entering the battle without tending to your weapons.  The human heart does not replenish itself with sleep.  The body does, but not the heart.  We replenish our hearts not with sleep, but with the Word of God and prayer.”

Compelling logic, is it not?
 
We don’t want to head unprepared into the daily fray. By rising early we can secure much-needed refreshment for our souls.
 
More on place and method this week…
 
(Portions of this post adapted from our book, Shopping for Time)