There was a time in our marriage when I commonly slept till 9am.

When my husband got up for work, I would roll over to cover my eyes from the light as I fell back to sleep. I had thick curtains on our windows to keep out the sunlight.

I was convicted of this when I read the verse “As a door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed.” (Proverbs 26:14) As a door on a hinge, I would repeatedly turn in bed and go back to sleep.

Shortly after this conviction, an elderly aunt inspired me when she said in her day men were properly seen off to work each morning with breakfast and a goodbye kiss.

Deciding I would do the same for my husband, I started setting my alarm with his for 6am.

We found the quiet of the morning to be a sweet time to be together, reconnecting and talking about thoughts, dreams, and decisions. We enjoyed our morning time and longed for more, so we started moving our alarm clocks back earlier and earlier.

We soon incorporated prayer into our morning time. In prayer, together as one, we brought to the Lord our marriage, the needs of our family, and the souls of our children.

I started to yearn for more time with the Lord before my husband woke up, so I moved my alarm up 30 minutes before his alarm went off. Eventually this became one hour. Then two.

I have been stretching myself as far as what I feel is possible. I have been trying to lead my flesh instead of listen to my flesh, and carve off the excess in regards to sleep.

I no longer have curtains on our windows or miss a sunrise. My alarm now goes off at 3:30am. I’m not propelled by duty, but by a sense of privilege and honor.  I don’t always rise at 3:30am, but the days I sleep in later than that now feel like time of missed sweet communion with the Lord. 

Before bed, I pray for the Lord to wake me and to bless and multiply the sleep I get. He has been so faithful to do so.

My spiritual life has grown immeasurably this last year, and it is no doubt because of the time I have spent in the early morning hours, before my family wakes, in prayer and in His Word.

Our time is fleeting.  The invitation is there for each one of us everyday to enter into the Holy of Holies as a student of the Lord. In Hebrews 11:6 He says He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, and I want to be found diligent in my pursuit of Him.

These morning hours are precious, and they now feel as vital to me as air.