“And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him” (Luke 21:38).

Isn’t this way it should be, that all of us would upon rising from sleep go to Jesus and listen to what He has to say? Indeed it is. In another place it speaks of the people hanging on His words (19:48). Why? Because His words are spirit and life. And, as Peter would say to Him when eventually everyone else turned away from Him, “You have the words of eternal life” (see John 6: 63, 68).

By God’s grace and over the span of 45-plus years, I have made it a habit to go to God in His word every morning. I find it to be a spiritual experience most every time. But even when I feel as though not much is happening, I know God’s word is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12), and that it works in those who believe it (1 Thessalonians 2:13) ; therefore I come, and I read and I listen. These my journals, since 1993 when I first began journaling, testify to the living and abiding word of God. They tell the truth that God still speaks to His people. That He is intimate with the upright (Proverbs 3:32). That, “My sheep hear My voice” (John 10:27).

God, by His word, reveals Himself (1 Samuel 3:21). A man may get a good glimpse of Him in nature–he will see His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature (Romans 1:20); he will not, however, come to know His love for mankind, how He is at work in history, nor will he know His saving grace which has come to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Nor will he know what this Christ has to say. The Scriptures are the sole source of Jesus’ words. A man can surmise all he wants, speculate, and reason within himself; but if he wants to know the teachings of Jesus, he must turn to the Bible to learn. While we cannot go to Him in the temple per se, we can go to Him in His word, the Scriptures. And, as I have found on a regular basis, if you go to Him you will find Him. And if you listen, you will hear Him. And, since His word is eternal – “heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away,” what He said then, He says now; His words are always a present reality.

It is worth noting that the people went to Him early in the morning, and this for two reasons. One, He was there. I don’t find where He was there in the evenings, nor in the nighttime–maybe He was, but I am not aware of it. Hence, if you were to go looking for Him in the evening, you would not find Him. You’ve got to go to Him when He is there. Two, the morning has a special quality to it. Each day a person starts off anew. He may have had a bad day the day before, but sleep gives him an opportunity to begin afresh. So in the early morning you are starting the day the best way possible, by listening to God.

Too, in the evening a person is typically done for the day; he is worn out and tired from the day’s work. He wants to relax, kick back and begin to wind down. His mind is filled with all the things that happened that day–in our day our heads are bombarded with all manner of news and information. It is not the best time, then, to be trying to hear the Lord.

Now I realize that some are ‘night persons’; they are most alert in later hours, and that is okay; whatever time works best for a person to be hearing from God. Yet all throughout the Bible we find the early hours of the morning to be preferred. It is really up to you; what is important is to be listening to Jesus and hanging on His words.

Of course, reading Scripture should be only part of what we do; it should both inspire and lead us to prayer. So many consider prayer to be the place where God speaks, and that may be true–many a time, countless times, has God spoken to me during prayer. Yet I often find it to be this way: if I have truly lent my ear to the word of God in Scripture, listening to the Lord speak to me, then when I go to prayer it is almost anti-climatic; in other words, I have already in large measure experienced God. So then prayer becomes for me the place of thanksgiving and one of intercession.

All of this equates to a vital, one-on-one, personal relationship with God. That is what I am talking about. And it all begins with listening to Jesus. Especially early in the morning.