Do I Have to Get Up Early to Pray? Part 2
Scripture — Mark 1:35 (NRSV)
In the morning, while it was still very dark, [Jesus] got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.
Focus
Spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, aren’t something we force ourselves to do to earn God’s favor or blessing. Rather, they are a means for us to participate and grow in God’s grace. So let me encourage you to work with your daily rhythms and schedules. Set aside time for prayer when you can be attentive and, at least most of the time, awake.
This devotion is part of the series: Following Jesus in the Gospel of Mark.
Devotion
In yesterday’s devotion, I began to consider the question, “If I really want to follow Jesus, do I have to get up early to pray?” I suggested that the answer to this question is “No,” though the practice of early morning prayer is an excellent one to develop. But those who insist that all Christians must get up before the sun to pray are pressing the example of Jesus in Mark 1:35 too hard. Some of us are wired to give God our best in prayer at other times during the day.
Before I move on from the question of early morning prayer, I want to relate one of my favorite stories. I was on a pastors’ retreat with several of my colleagues from Southern California. Dallas Willard was our speaker. He was talking about spiritual disciplines that help us to grow in Christ. He encouraged us to pray daily, but did not emphasize one time of day above another.
In a Q&A session, one of the pastors asked this question: “Dallas, I try to pray every morning before I start my day. But I have a problem. Often, when I’m praying early, I fall asleep. Do you have any suggestions for me?”
I’m quite sure that pastor was looking for some secret, some trick to say awake better when he prayed. Perhaps he expected something like “Drink a cup of coffee” or “Stand up.” That’s what I expected Dallas to say.
But that’s not what happened. Rather, Dallas looked at this pastor with kindness and said with compassion, “Well, if you’re falling asleep when you pray, maybe God wants to give you the gift of more sleep.” Wow!
What Dallas Willard understood, and helped us to understand, is that spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, aren’t something we force ourselves to do to earn God’s favor or blessing. Rather, they are a means for us to participate and grow in God’s grace. If we separate prayer and the other disciplines from grace, then they have lost their Christian distinctiveness. Part of living in grace is paying attention to how we are wired as people. If we’re early risers by nature, then by all means get up early and pray. But if we’re not wired that way, then grace invites us to pray at another time of day.
So, once again, let me encourage you to work with your daily rhythms and schedules. Set aside time for prayer when you can be attentive and, at least most of the time, awake.
Reflect
How do you respond to the story I just told?
Do you associate spiritual disciplines, like prayer, with grace? Why or why not?
In general, what time of day would be ideal for you when it comes to prayer?
Act
If you haven’t already built in a regular time of prayer into your life, do so in light of your answer to the previous question. See if you can pray each day for the next week.
Also, if you’d like to learn more about spiritual disciplines and grace, let me suggest Dallas Willard’s book, The Spirit of the Disciplines.
Pray
Gracious God, help us to see our whole lives as an expression of and response to your grace. By your grace, may we learn to spend time with you each day, delighting in your presence and opening our hearts to you freely. Thank you for being available to us. Thank you for desiring time with us. Indeed, thank you for desiring us! Amen.
Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Here’s an Experiment: Frame Your Day With God’s Love and Faithfulness.
Mark D. Roberts
Senior Fellow
Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a Senior Fellow for Fuller’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, where he focuses on the spiritual development and thriving of leaders. He is the principal writer of the daily devotional, Life for Leaders, and t...