I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. – Psalm 119:147

Today's Scripture Reading (October 19, 2025): Psalm 119: 145-176

I have never enjoyed mornings. Isaac Newton produced his laws of motion, and I have often wondered if there are similar laws that govern my sleep patterns. For instance, Newton's First Law of Motion says that an object that is in motion will stay in motion unless another force acts to stop it. In the same way, an object that is still (not in motion) will continue to be still unless a force works on it to put it in motion. As far as my sleep patterns are concerned, when I am awake, I want to stay awake, and when I am asleep, I want to stay asleep. Ah, but that is probably just me.

I have often told the story of competing Bible Studies back in my college days. They made the most of Bible verses like this one in Psalm 119 and wanted to get up early for their Bible Studies. There were two of these Bible Studies, and they were competing to be the first Bible Study of the day. When one of these groups would advertise a start time, the other would move its start time to a few minutes earlier. Both of these groups had invited me to become part of their study, but I thought they were both insane. There was no way I wanted to leave my warm bed on a cold winter morning just to be part of a Bible Study that was striving to be the first of the day.

Am I a lesser Christian? Maybe, but I don't think so. I still struggle with mornings, but I do go to my Bible first in the day. Seventeenth-century theologian, John Trapp (1601-1669), is known for his pithy statements, and he offered these words: "The word [Bible] furnished his [The Psalmist's] hope, and his hope his prayer." The Psalmist began his day with the Bible, which gave him hope. That hope then informed how the Psalmist prayed.

If we want to live with hope, we need to pray with hope. If we're going to pray with hope, then we need to start our day with the Bible, letting God's Word inform the direction that our day might take. The Bible reminds us that regardless of what is happening on the outside of our lives, God is still in control. A good friend of mine (she passed away several years ago) continually reminded me that God is still on the throne. She was right; He is. And so, I have hope.

And so do you, regardless of what time you get out of bed. But life works best if we start the day with the Bible and prayer, even if our day begins as the sun sets.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 120 & 121