You see a friend approaching you on the sidewalk.
“Hey! How are you?” he or she asks.
Don’t say it. Don’t say it. Don’t say it.
“I’m tired,” you respond with a weak smile.
As college students, it seems to be one of the responses that slips out without a second thought. Can you blame us? Between classes, campus events and our social lives — we really are tired.
So why in the world would we want to wake up earlier?
In Psalm 5:3 (NIV), we see David coming near to God early in the morning with what is on his heart.
“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.”
Hank Voss, associate professor of Christian ministries, said our days should consist of preparing, planning and reviewing. The mornings in particular are good for preparing. One way we can better prepare for our days is by praying.
“It’s hard to be prepared for the things that will come to us during our day if we haven’t prayed about them,” Voss said.
As students, it is tempting to wake up right before our first obligation, but when we do this we don’t get the chance to truly prepare for our day. Waking up a little earlier gives us time to draw near to God and orient ourselves in the right direction.
Josiah Peterson, director of residence life, said he tries to get up two hours before his first commitment of the day.
“It really came from probably ‘The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry' —reading that book and saying ‘you're right,’” Peterson said. “I need to practice being so slow that I'm actually going to get up and start my day not in a rush.”
Again you might ask, “Why would I wake up early? I went to bed at 2 a.m. last night and barely got any sleep.”
The answer is simple: Go to bed earlier.
Of course, sometimes we do have assignments to complete or late meetings to attend. However, it may be beneficial to examine our days for things that keep us up unnecessarily.
Voss emphasized the importance of planning for an early morning beforehand. He thinks of people like theologian John Stott. Voss said Stott always excused himself at 9 p.m. from whatever he was doing because he had an “important meeting” in the morning. The meeting, of course, was with Jesus.
“It usually doesn’t happen by happenstance,” he said. “So your morning with Jesus always starts the night before.”
If students are still skeptical, Peterson said they should consider making morning quiet time communal. Sometimes we psych ourselves out thinking we have to have this intense quiet time alone, he said. Getting a few friends together in the morning can provide accountability and also take some of this pressure away.
Bree Penner, junior social work major, is one of the leaders of Wellspring. Wellspring is a morning time of prayer, fellowship and worship that is open to anyone, she said. The group meets twice a week at 6:30 a.m., meeting in the Meredith Prayer Chapel on Mondays and the Memorial Prayer Chapel on Thursdays.
She said there is something special and vulnerable about a group of people who have just rolled out of bed, coming together and encountering the Lord.
Penner recognized that not everyone may be “morning people,” and that is okay. However, there is still significance in taking time in the morning to seek God before anything else.
“God created morning people and night people for a reason,” she said. “But I think there's something special of making the effort of, even if it's 10 minutes, saying, ‘No, I'm going to give my first bit and I'm going to surrender to you (God).’ Because God doesn't care if we're fully awake or not, he just wants our hearts.”
Furthermore, we start our day with God in order to spend the rest of the day with Him, she explained. It is not about checking a box in the morning and then neglecting to seek God as the day continues.
Surrendering to God early in the morning allows us to give Him everything that follows.
“You (God) are first on the list, and you are my whole list,” Penner said.
If people are interested in starting off the day with God, Peterson recommended the Pray as you Go app which guides listeners in a time of Scripture and reflection. He also recommended The Worship Initiative's daily devotionals.
Nonetheless, it is important to give ourselves grace in this process. Sometimes sleeping in is the smartest option. Sometimes a quick prayer before our feet hit the ground is all we can muster.
Voss compared the formation of this discipline to the growth of a fruit tree, which requires patience.
“One of the things about fruit trees is that when you plant it, it takes at least four, but often 10 years before you see the fruit,” he said. “So be patient if you don't see fruit right away.”
Now, when that friend on the sidewalk asks us how we are doing, we will most likely still be tired, and that is not a bad thing. In fact, our exhaustion is a reminder that we are not capable of bearing the classes and assignments all by ourselves.
God is our source of strength. Therefore, before the chaos of the day ensues, let us draw near to Him.
