Recalling Scripture when Waking Up
I can choose an even simpler spiritual activity to do in the early mornings.
Like many people, waking up early is a challenge for me. I'd love to wake up earlier in the morning so that I can spend more time with the Lord in prayer and meditation. But wanting to do something and actually doing it are two different things. As Jesus said, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt. 26:41 NIV). I'm acutely aware of this comment that Jesus made every single morning. There have been times in the past where I did wake up early to spend more time in prayer. Those times usually lasted for only a few weeks or so. I can't seem to do it consistently for a long period of time.
First of all, I shouldn't beat myself up for not being able to do it consistently. I can keep trying in the future if I desire to. But I should also give myself permission to drop the attempt altogether if I want to. I shouldn't feel guilty if it's just a practice that doesn't work for me. I will just have to work around it. I will have to find time to spend with the Lord outside of the early mornings (like spending a good chunk of time in prayer in the evenings instead). I should give myself permission to be as creative and flexible as I need to be. I don't have to force a particular way of doing things.
Here's another thing I can do. I can choose an even simpler spiritual activity to do in the early mornings. I don't have to keep doing a particular spiritual activity if it doesn't work for me during that time of the day. The spiritual activity that I want to experiment with in the early mornings is simply recalling memorized Scripture. Each day, I recall close to 200 Bible verses throughout the day. Perhaps I can recall some of these Bible verses in the early morning while I lay in bed (because I'm so lazy to get up). This is a spiritual activity that could possibly work for those early morning times. And it's much more productive than scrolling through social media.
This idea of recalling Scripture when you wake up reflects a little bit of what the Bible says too. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses encouraged the Israelites to honor God's Word with these words: "These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up" (Deut. 6:6-7 NIV). The Bible encourages us to think about Scripture often—even when we're lying down and getting up. Recalling memorized Scripture when I wake up and lay on the bed can be one way for me to do what this verse is saying.
I'm going to experiment with this for a bit and see how it goes.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
