Mark 1:35  Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (NIV)

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I love this verse. I have been an early morning guy most of my life. I love getting up early. I love my morning routine, carefully crafted over decades. I love my time alone with God. 

My bride will tell you that I’m not that much of a morning person because I don’t talk for the first hour or so. For example, a couple of days ago, she asked me a question, and I gestured in return. She expressed that I needed to use words. 

Let me say it again: I don’t like to talk first thing in the morning. 

I also don’t like it when she starts unloading the dishwasher first thing in the morning while her coffee is brewing. I find that distracting. We also have a set of the noisiest plates you have ever heard in your life. 

So I guess what I’m saying is there’s more than one kind of morning person. I’m one kind, and my bride is another. It keeps life spicy. 

This morning, I had an early morning, different from the way I had planned. I awoke at 2:40 am, as aging men sometimes do, and found I couldn’t get back to sleep. I lay on my left side. I lay on my right side. I lay flat on my back. Nothing helped. 

I prayed that prayer I pray so often in the middle of the night: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” So many people came to mind. I began praying for my coworker who had surgery this week and another coworker who’s been ill. I prayed about this situation and that. 

I was so wide awake that there was no chance I was going back to sleep. So I did what aging men do in the middle of the night. I wandered around our house, thought, prayed, and finally ended up in the bed our granddaughter sleeps in when she comes to visit. I slept for another hour and a half or so until my wife woke up and started banging dishes in the kitchen. 

See what I mean? 

I’m probably going to need a nap this afternoon. It’s a good thing our office closes at noon on Fridays. 

Two cups of coffee into this day, and I’m beginning to feel alive again. I’m mostly alert. I could even carry on a conversation with my bride if she hadn’t left for work already. I think I’ll bang around the dishes before I go get ready for the day. 

She would be so proud. 

What do you do when you just can’t sleep? 

How do you pray beyond “Now I lay me down to sleep”? 

What’s your morning routine? 

God seldom shouts at us. He most often whispers. He uses a gentle voice to draw us in and help us understand his heart, mind, will, and ways. Sometimes we hear him best when he awakens us in the middle of the night, when there are no competing voices, conversations, or dishes banging in the kitchen. 

When you find yourself alone with God in the middle of the night, invite Him to speak. Listen deeply. Ponder what comes to mind. Pray about those issues, and thank Him that He’s on the job even in our slumber. 

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I will cultivate a heart for God that welcomes His interruptions, even in my deepest sleep. 

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Our Father, thank you for awakening me this morning. You reminded me of some things I need to lean into. You reminded me of some things I need to lean away from. You reminded me how much you love people in my life who irritate me. Empower me today to live as Jesus lived, to love as he loved, and to welcome peaceful hours uninterrupted by anyone or anything but the welcome sound of your gentle voice. Amen.