Step Nine: Read the Bible (in the morning)

Reading the Bible is the obvious point - there's plenty of reasons why a healthy soul needs the Word of God. Since this blog is about what's been helpful for me, I don't have any reservations about saying that it's better to read scripture in the morning.

For me (and I bet for everyone) taking a piece of your morning and letting God shape it through His Word is the best way to devote your whole day to Him. There is actually some Biblical precedent for this as well. Mark 1:35 describes Jesus going to pray "early in the morning while it was still dark." If you're sitting there complaining that you already get up early, blah, blah, blah just remember that Jesus is better than you at everything. (Just kidding, but...he is). The Psalmist likes the morning hours as well: In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. (5:3).

I think the morning is better because of the concept of first fruits. Under the sacrificial system the covenant people of God were required to sacrifice the best of what they had as an offering. They were also to give the first of what they had. The morning represents the first of our most precious commodity: time. Additionally, we are easily distracted and email/tv/chores/life are all vying to step in and rob us of our intention to read the Word. So...it's not sinful to have a quiet time in the evening, but it might be less beneficial. If you've never seriously endeavoured to spend time in the Word as the first part of your day I encourage you to try it for a week or so and see if it offsets that extra 15-20 minutes of sleep you might have otherwise gotten.