Finding Time for Prayer and Meditation

What a difference it makes waking up before the kids are up to read and feed my soul!

It took some trial and error figuring out when and how I could get more reading time in.

Since my kids are up between 6:30-7am I never considered getting up before them. I tried reading during nap time but often got side tracked by chores and other things I needed to get done while the kids were asleep. I tried in the evening but after making supper, cleaning up and getting the kids to bed I was too tired to retain any scripture.

In Mathew 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ "

Henry gets up between 3:30-4am to read scripture every morning before work so that is what really inspired me. As well as a deep conviction I felt God nudging me to open my Bible more.

I knew I needed to read so I made the dreaded decision to set my alarm for 5:30am! This was tough at first but that extra time I had for prayer and reading scripture filled me up spiritually to last throughout the whole day. I had time to pray and ask God to give me the patience and wisdom I needed to get through another day of motherhood, I read through the whole New Testament in a short time and was able to highlight and apply so many chapters and verses to my own life. On top of reading scripture I was able to have myself ready as well as the kids breakfast which made our morning routine so much less hectic! I even noticed a huge difference in Hazel's attitude when I made this change. Sometimes I'm still reading when Hazel gets downstairs and now she joins me with her own bible story book.

I also had time to start chapter books on the side. I've mostly been reading parenting books because you can never get enough wisdom from seasoned parents!

Again and again we are reminded throughout the Bible how important devoting time to prayer and scripture reading is. Colossians 4:4-6 says we need to have conversations full of grace seasoned with salt and to make the most of opportunity when speaking to others. What better way to prepare for this than through scripture readings and prayer.