The “morning” is the time I have set to meet with the Lord. “Morning ”—the very word itself is like a cluster of luscious grapes to crush into sacred wine for me to drink. In the morning! This is when God wants me at my best in strength and hope so that I may begin my daily climb, not in weakness but in strength. Last night I buried yesterday’s fatigue, and this morning I took on a new supply of energy. Blessed is the day when the morning is sanctified—set apart to God! Successful is the day when the first victory is won in prayer! Holy is the day when the dawn finds me on the mountaintop with God!

Dear Father, I am coming to meet with You. Nothing on the common, everyday plain of life will keep me away from Your holy heights. At Your calling I come, so I have the assurance that You will meet with me. Each morning begun so well on the mountain will make me strong and glad the rest of the day! JOSEPH PARKER

Still, still with You, when the purple morning breaks, When the birds awake, and the shadows flee; Fairer than morning, lovelier than daylight, Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with Thee.

Alone with You, amid the misty shadows, The solemn hush of nature newly born; Alone with You in breathless adoration, In the calm dew and freshness of the morn.

As in a sunrise o’er a waveless ocean, The image of the morning star does rest, So in this stillness, You discerning only Your image in the waters of my breast.

When sinks the soul, subdued by toil, to slumber, Its closing eyes look up to You in prayer; Sweet the repose, beneath Your wings o’ershadowing, But sweeter still to wake and find You there.

HARRIET BEECHER STOWE

My mother made it a habit every day, immediately after breakfast, to spend an hour in her room, reading the Bible, meditating over it, and praying to the Lord. That hour was like a blessed fountain from which she drew the strength and sweetness that prepared her to complete all her tasks.

It also enabled her to maintain a genuine peacefulness in spite of the normal trying worries and pettiness that so often accompany life in a crowded neighborhood.

As I think of her life and all that she had to endure, I see the absolute triumph of the grace of God in the ideal Christian lady. She was such a lovely person that I never saw her lose her temper or speak even one word in anger. I never heard her participate in idle gossip or make a disparaging remark about another person.

In fact, I never saw in her even the hint of an emotion unbecoming to someone who had drunk from “the river of the water of life” (Revelation 22:1) and who had eaten of “the living bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:51). FREDERICK WILLIAM FARRAR

Give God the fresh blossom of the day. Never make Him wait until the petals have faded.

The morning is a critically important time of day. You must never face the day until you have faced God, nor look into the face of others until you have looked into His. You cannot expect to be victorious, if you begin your day in your own strength alone.

Begin the work of every day after having been influenced by a few reflective, quiet moments between your heart and God. Do not meet with others, even the members of your own family, until you have first met with the great Guest and honored Companion of your life—Jesus Christ.

Meet with Him alone and regularly, having His Book of counsel open before you. Then face the ordinary, and the unique, responsibilities of each day with the renewed influence and control of His character over all your actions.

Begin the day with God!

He is your Sun and Day!

His is the radiance of your dawn;

To Him address your day.

Sing a new song at morn!

Join the glad woods and hills;

Join the fresh winds and seas and plains,

Join the bright flowers and rills.

Sing your first song to God!

Not to your fellow men;

Not to the creatures of His hand,

But to the glorious One.

Take your first walk with God!

Let Him go forth with thee;

By stream, or sea, or mountain path,

Seek still His company.

Your first transaction be

With God Himself above;

So will your business prosper well,

All the day be love.

HORA TIUS BONAR

Those who have accomplished the most for God in this world are those who have been found on their knees early in the morning. For example, Matthew Henry would spend from four to eight o’clock each morning in his study. Then, after breakfast and a time of family prayer, he would return to his study until noon. After lunch, he would write till four p.m. and then spend the remainder of the day visiting friends.

Philip Doddridge referred to his Family Expositor as an example of the difference of rising at five o’clock, as opposed to seven. He realized that increasing his workday by twenty-five percent was the equivalent of adding ten work years to his life over a period of forty years.

Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible was penned primarily in the early morning hours. Barnes’ Notes, a popular and useful commentary by Albert Barnes, was also the fruit of the early morning. And Charles Simeon’s Sketches were mostly written between four and eight a.m.