Psalm 63:1 says, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” This verse expresses David’s deep longing and desire to seek after God. But does it mean we have to get up early every morning specifically to seek after God? Let’s explore this topic further.
The importance of seeking God
First, it’s clear from Psalm 63:1 that David had a passionate desire to seek after God. His soul “thirsted” and his flesh “fainted” for God. Seeking after God was a priority in David’s life. He longed for a close relationship with God and diligently pursued Him. As Christians, we should have this same fervent desire to know God more and walk closely with Him each day. Regularly seeking after God through Bible reading, prayer, worship, and obedience allows us to experience His presence, guidance, and blessing in our lives.
“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42:2). Our souls should thirst and long for God like parched ground crying out for water.
“Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!” (1 Chronicles 16:11). We are called to continually seek after God every day, not just when it’s convenient.
Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Seeking God must be our first priority in life above all else.
Clearly, Scripture places a high importance on passionately pursuing God daily. The questions are when and how, not if we should seek Him.
Early morning provides unique benefits
While we can and should seek God throughout the day, there are some unique benefits to seeking Him early in the morning:
- It sets our focus first on God before the distractions and busyness of the day come in (Psalm 5:3).
- It demonstrates putting God first by giving Him our freshest moments of the day.
- Praying and reading Scripture first thing can strengthen and equip us spiritually for whatever we face that day.
- It develops discipline and commitment in our walk with God.
- It’s often the quietest, most uninterrupted time we have to focus on God.
- There are several examples of biblical heroes of the faith rising early to meet with God, like Jesus (Mark 1:35), Jacob (Genesis 28:18), Job (Job 1:5), and Abraham (Genesis 19:27).
In Psalm 63:1, David may have been reflecting on times when he would rise early and seek after God in the quiet morning hours in the wilderness. He found these early morning times helped sustain him and strengthen his thirst for God throughout the day when busier responsibilities would come.
A model prayer: Seeking God at sunrise
Psalm 5:1-3 provides a model for seeking God at sunrise:
Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
David begins by crying out to God and asking for His attention and help. He commits to morning as a special time to pray and offer spiritual sacrifices to God through worship, praise, reading Scripture, and crying out to Him. Finally, he waits in watchful expectation, listening for God’s voice and direction for the day.
No matter what time we do it, the key is carving out consistent, unrushed time to humbly seek God each day with an expectant heart. God promises if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (James 4:8).
Practical tips for seeking God in the morning
If you want to get up earlier to seek God, consider trying some of these practical tips:
- Go to bed earlier so you can wake up refreshed and energized for your time with God.
- Have a plan for your morning devotions so you use the time productively.
- Pick a regular wake-up time you know you can stick with. Then set your alarm clock across the room so you have to get up to turn it off.
- Set out anything you’ll need the night before – your Bible, journal, worship music, etc.
- If you have kids, explain to them the importance of your morning routine with God. Ask them to help keep mornings peaceful.
- Get in the habit of going to God first before checking your phone, email, and social media.
- If you struggle with alertness in the morning, try standing up while you pray and read your Bible.
- Go to bed with an attitude of expectancy – God has something fresh in store for you tomorrow!
God understands our unique schedules and limitations
While seeking God early in the morning is admirable and beneficial, we also need to remember every person’s schedule and situation is unique. For some people, early mornings are simply not feasible.
God understands our limitations! He takes delight when we earnestly seek Him at any time of the day – whether it’s first thing in the morning, mid-morning, afternoon, or evening. Don’t let the idea of an early morning quiet time become a source of guilt and condemnation.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Walking in faithful obedience is what matters most, not the specific time.
Parents of young children, shift workers, people with health issues, and others with challenging schedules should not feel guilty about needing to deviate from a traditional early morning quiet time. Just seek to honor God with your time whenever He gives you the ability.
Examples of people seeking God at “non-traditional” times
Here are some biblical examples of people earnestly seeking God during non-traditional times of the day:
- Jacob had a powerful encounter with God one night as he fled from his brother Esau (Genesis 32:22-32). Alone and in distress, Jacob wrestled with a divine messenger all night long. God blessed Jacob, changed his name to Israel, and touched his hip leaving him with a limp – a reminder of his special night with God.
- Hannah, in her deep grief over being barren, poured out her soul before God in the tabernacle after dinner one evening. As she continued praying through the night, the priest Eli thought she was drunk! But God honored Hannah’s earnest prayers that evening, and she gave birth to her son Samuel (1 Samuel 1:9-20).
- After the Last Supper and before His arrest, Jesus prayed earnestly in deep emotional agony in the Garden of Gethsemane in the middle of the night (Matthew 26:36-46). He sought strength and submission to the Father’s will at this non-traditional hour.
- The disciples were praying together in the middle of the night when God released Peter from jail by sending an angel (Acts 12:6-17). God saw their earnest prayers for Peter’s release, even late at night.
While early mornings can be ideal, God clearly desires us to seek Him with passionate longing at any time of the day – or night – when we’re able. The time of day is far less important than the sincerity of our hearts.
Tips for fitting God-time into a busy schedule
For those who simply cannot manage early-morning quiet times, here are some tips for fitting in unhurried God-time amidst the busyness of life:
- Take a short walk during lunch and use it to pray or listen to worship music.
- Keep a Bible or Christian devotional by your bed to read a short passage and pray on your lunch break at work.
- Listen to worship music and praise God as you’re getting ready in the morning.
- Pray while commuting to work.
- Go for a prayer walk in the evening with your family after dinner.
- Wake up a few minutes early and read a Psalm or Gospel passage while still lying in bed.
- Put on worship music while cooking dinner and use it as a time to praise and pray.
- If you have kids, do family devotions in the evening when things may be calmer.
Truly, God can meet with us powerfully at any point in our day when we open our hearts to Him. He sees our limitations and honors the sacrificed moments we offer, no matter how imperfect or brief. The key is giving Him our best in the midst of what He allows on our schedules.
Focused attention, not just time
In the busyness of life, we may only have limited windows of time we can carve out to seek God. But He can do great things with our focused attention during those brief, sacred times we give Him.
“My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net” (Psalm 25:15). Keeping our eyes fixed on God in the moments we give Him will make those times impactful.
When Jesus taught about prayer, He emphasized going into our inner room, shutting the door, and praying to God in secret (Matthew 6:6). We may only have a few minutes, but shutting out distractions to focus just on God makes it meaningful.
In our fast-paced society, one of the greatest offerings we can give God is segments of undistracted attention and fellowship. We must steward well the unique slices of time He grants us.
Seeking God throughout the day
While special times set apart to meet with God are crucial, we also need to cultivate an ongoing attitude of seeking Him throughout our day:
- Having short conversations with Him amidst work and family activities.
- Turning our hearts toward Him in the little in-between moments of life.
- Seeking His guidance before important decisions and interactions.
- Looking for small acts of obedience to God in our everyday routine.
- Praying for the people we encounter and situations we observe throughout the day.
- Meditating on His Word when snippets comes to mind.
- Listening to worship music as we drive or do household chores.
“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We can develop an ongoing prayerful attitude that keeps us seeking God all day long.
Seeking God first matters most
While times and seasons seeking God may vary, the most important principle is this: God wants to be first above all else. We must seek Him before other priorities crowd our minds and hearts.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
No matter when we seek the Lord, He wants us to start our days with Him – giving Him the first and best fruits, not the leftovers. Carving out time to meet with God first demonstrates He’s our highest priority and source of guidance.
When we seek God first, it focuses our minds, fills us with His wisdom and peace, and helps set the trajectory for the rest of the day. God promises if we put Him first, the other details of life will fall into place.
The danger of delaying time with God
Once the urgency of the day sets in, it’s easy to let our time alone with God get pushed aside by other demands. But delaying or skipping it entirely is dangerous for our spiritual health. Jesus warned:
But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap (Luke 21:34).
The heavy weight of worldly concerns and pleasures can slowly erode our spiritual life if we’re not careful to guard our hearts and nourish our souls on God’s Word daily. We may gradually drift from close fellowship with Him.
James 4:8 says “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” But the flip side is also true – if we neglect drawing near to God, He will seem distant in our lives.
That’s why seeking God first thing in the mornings is so helpful – it ensures we don’t get sidetracked and start drifting spiritually once the busyness of life kicks in.
What matters most: A heart that earnestly seeks God
While early morning quiet times are commendable, we’ve seen they’re often not viable for everyone. The most important factor is having a heart that longs for God and earnestly desires to know and love Him more – no matter when or how we are able to seek Him throughout the day.
This passionate heart-cry is what David so beautifully expresses in Psalm 63:1: “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” His deepest longing was for God.
God promises if we draw near to Him, He will meet with us (James 4:8). He looks at our hearts and honors even our faltering steps when our innermost desire is to seek Him. He takes delight in even the brief moments we are able to steal away to meet with Him amidst all the demands of life.
Ruth said to Naomi “Where you go I will go” (Ruth 1:16). Like Ruth, we should resolve to follow hard after God wherever He leads day by day, trusting He will guide our times and seasons. He knows each person’s changing limits and responsibilities.
Our gracious Father is not a tyrant standking standing over us with a stopwatch. He’s a loving, merciful God who looks at our hearts. He promises His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). All He asks is that we earnestly seek Him with the time, energy, and focus we have.
Truly, a heart that longs for God’s presence matters far more than the specific hour of the day.
