Mark 1:35-39
Isn’t it interesting that our day begins with the sound of an alarm clock? Alarm is synonymous with danger, threat: something unpleasant is about to happen! I read somewhere that we ought to re-name it our resurrection clock. Maybe it could be programmed to shout out Ephesians 5:14[1], “Awake thou that sleepest, and rise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light!” The moment I wake up is the most unpleasant of my day and a super-spiritual alarm clock, resurrection clock, or seize-the-day clock would only make it worse.
Wake up time is bad enough, but what if everything was taken away from you; your country, your city, your home, family and wealth? An Old Testament prophet called Jeremiah experienced this. Guess what he said when his alarm went off that morning?
This I call to mind. and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.
Lamentations 3:21-24
If only we could meet disaster in that spirit. We need to work on our moment of waking because it sets the course for the day, waking the body is a challenge but...
What do you do to wake up your spirit in the morning?
What did Jesus do?
If you think you are busy, read one of the gospels, Jesus was on the go morning, noon and night. So what did the beginning of his day look like? (Read Mark 1:35-39)
Busy as he was, Jesus had a rhythm to his life. As an observant Jew, he would pray three times a day[2]. His life was built around the times of prayer and worship embedded in the Jewish calendar over centuries[3]. His ancestors had discovered the life-enhancing richness of having a rhythm of prayer in their daily lives. His followers have, over centuries, discovered the same.
Not surprisingly, modern psychology has confirmed this. People who have an established rhythm of prayer and worship are happier, more content and less prone to anxiety and depression[4]. When Jesus called us to ‘fullness of life’ part of this was to experience God and connect with him through worship and prayer: it actually works. You could go home today, make some small changes to the start of your day tomorrow and begin to experience this for yourself.
This little passage in Mark gives us some simple insights to help us do this. First, Jesus was an early riser: second, he had a specific place to pray: third, he had a clear purpose to his life.
Rising early: When I was young I was not a morning person, as I have got older I have discovered that I am not an evening person either. In fact, I struggle a little in the afternoons too. Realistically, one of the best chances we get to be with God is first thing in the morning.
Waking up may be tough, our bodies want to stay in the sack. But before long we are hunched over a bowl of wheaty puffs watching Breakfast Television – our body is awake but our spirit is still asleep!
The first thing you need to do when you wake up is to connect with Jesus. There are two ways you can do this: re-organise your morning routine to give time to wake up your spirit, or get up a little earlier to make the time you need.
No time for this? Well try the following: leave the radio off and get going with one of your favourite worship CDs, play it loud and sing along!
Find a place: why did Jesus go out into the wilderness to pray? Some places are ideal locations for prayer, other places are quite useless. It is very hard to connect with God in the living room with the TV on, and just as difficult by your desk with the computer on. You need to focus, and this means losing the distractions. So simple surroundings are the best.
Being in the same place each day to connect with God also re-enforces your ability to get down to business. We have the rather silly belief in our culture that desire gives rise to behaviour, so we pray when we feel like it and not when we don’t. Science tells us the opposite; doing something regularly and rhythmically helps create the desire to do it.
The rhythms of Jesus life tell us that this is how it works: just do it, the feelings will follow. Find a rhythm and find a place.
Know your purpose: it would be easy to miss something quite shocking in these verses (36-39). Jesus walked away from sick people so he could preach. He had a clear sense of purpose that shaped the start to his day.
If you are a Christian you have a clear purpose too. There is a dramatic verse in one of Paul’s letters: Colossians 3:17. He tells us to do everything in the name of Jesus (as a representative of Jesus). If I am shopping (or driving, or working) in Jesus name, how does that change things? What does it mean to wake up in Jesus name? This is Eugene Pettersen:
We go to sleep, but God is working all through the night. So we don’t have to be anxious or worried. When we wake up we will simply join him in his work.
This is what it means; you wake up and start the day shift with Jesus. The heart of spiritual life is to do everything with Jesus, the way he would do it if he were me, knowing he is actually present. You stack shelves for a living? Jesus wants you do it with him. You build rockets? The same applies; every single human activity is important to him. He is passionate about what you do, that is why he called you to it. Do it as a representative of Jesus.
Try this in your morning prayers. Go through the day in prayer, hour by hour; every job you know you have to do, each person you will meet, every event. It is all important to him, and we start the day by going through it together.
How will you wake up your spirit in the morning?
[1] This is a great business idea for you Christian entrepreneurs: we can negotiate royalties.
[2] Remember Daniel? He would not alter this rhythm on pain of death, Daniel 6:10
[3] Another little comment in Luke 4:16 sheds light on this
[4] After interviewing 1000 people, psychologist Neal Krause discovered that praying for others helps reduce stress from financial and other worries and dramatically improved their well being. Interestingly, prayer for material things like a new car or house conferred no such benefit. Source - :59 Seconds, Richard Wiseman, Macmillan