Text: Matthew 6:5-7
Memory verse:
“I rise before the dawning of the morning, And cry for help; I hope in Your word.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭147‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We have considered two Ps of the discipline of quiet time, which are Purpose and Place. Today, let’s consider the third P, which is, Period. This includes the time to commence and the duration. It is important to determine the specific time in the morning you want to start off and to stick to the time. We have examples of those who rose early to be alone with God, like Abraham (Gen 19:27), ‭‭David (Psalms‬ ‭5‬:‭3; 119:147), Job (Job 1:5), Isaiah (Isa 50:4) and our Lord Jesus (Mark 1:35).
It’s always great to start small and to set a realistic goal. For example, if you are a late riser, it will be more realistic to start by setting 5am instead of 3am wake up time as you can always grow from there. Once you have decided the wake up time, you need to discipline your body against sleep. “How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep?”
‭‭(Prov‬ ‭6‬:‭9‬). You need to be disciplined to rise up from your bed to keep your appointment with God, whether the wearing is cold or hot. Sleep can be a hinderance to consistent quiet time which you must conquer. As a door turns on its hinges, so a lazy man turns on his beds (Prov 26:14). He turns around to turn off the alarm and turns back to sleep. By the time he eventually wakes up, there are distractions everywhere and he is also under pressure to get out to work. However, when you are able to enforce the necessary discipline at the early stage, over time, your body gets accustomed to rising up at that time, even without an alarm.
Sleeping late can also affect your wake up time. Except when you want to be alone with God in the night. It’s always good to sleep early so you can rise up early. Discipline is required to stop the movie and switch off your TV or phone and to end the late night discussion or chat so you can go to bed early.
Friends, you can’t achieve consistency in your quiet time without self-discipline. It is what you do repeatedly that becomes a habit.

Prayer points
1. Father, I receive Your grace to keep my early morning appointment with You in Jesus name.
2. Father, I receive Your wisdom to overcome all hinderances to my consistent quiet time in Jesus name.

Today’s declarations
1. I overcome sleep and rise up early to keep my daily appointment with God.
2. Staying up late in the night can affect my early morning quiet time, so I go to bed early to wake up early.

Contact: pastor@thf.org.ng