As working saints in the Lord’s recovery, we are pulled in every direction from the moment we get up in the morning. Whether it be preparing for a work presentation or shopping and cleaning the house for a group meeting, our time and energy are constantly being sapped. As our capacities and responsibilities increase over time, both at work and in the church, we may easily overlook the most foundational matter – morning revival. In fact, it is often the first thing to go.
But the real peril lies in the fact that we may not even know it, because we faithfully (or unfaithfully) read The Holy Word for Morning Revival, even if it’s while we are brushing our teeth, eating our breakfast, riding the train, or, driving! On the other hand, we may studiously devote half an hour to an hour poring over the Word with our concordance and coffee and yet still not feel “fresh” afterwards.
This may be because we are unclear about the difference between “morning revival” and “morning watch.” In The Exercise and Practice of the God-ordained Way, Brother Lee says, “Usually, in our speaking, we combine the morning revival with morning watch. But it is good to separate them, because if you only have a small amount of time each morning, you should try to have revival every morning.” (Message 29, p. 289-290)
So what is the difference?
Morning revival is really just that – a revival. Regardless of how we get there, the point is that in the end we are revived, or in other words, filled, refreshed, strengthened, enlightened, energized, vivified, made happy, etc. As a practical handle, however, we should pay attention to 5 things (all the following quotes are from the same reference as above):
- The Lord: Morning revival is time spent with THE LORD. Without the Lord, there is no revival. “In this time with the Lord, we must reject all distracting thoughts about our activities [such as our breakfast/coffee or presentation]. Try your best not to go along with your emotion, mind, or will.”
- His name: To help us concentrate on Him, the Lord gave us His name. “Just concentrate your entire being on the Lord, and try to exercise your spirit to call on His name. We must learn to call on His name in the morning.”
- His Word: “It is also good not to consider many different portions of the Bible at this time… [instead] pray-read two or three verses, using them for your prayer.” (emphasis added)
- Our spirit: Again the simplest way is to call on His name. Also we should pray, but “it is best to avoid praying for other things. In this time, we should simply talk to the Lord directly. This is real prayer.”
- Ten minutes: “To have some time with the Lord each morning does not mean that we have to spend a great deal of time with the Lord. I have practiced a lot and have found out that having about ten minutes with the Lord each morning is enough time.” That’s it! Wow!
“As you contact the Lord in this way, something in your being will be revived, your spirit will be stirred up, and you will be strengthened to live a holy life. This is the morning revival.”
So what is morning watch? Morning watch is what we can do after we have been revived during those ten minutes. “If you have more than ten minutes… the extra time can be used to read and study the Bible. In this time of study, it is helpful to use other publications in order to understand the Bible in a more thorough way.” Unfortunately, many of us jump right to having morning watch with, ironically, The Holy Word for Morning Revival. No wonder we don’t feel living or active and are not bearing fruit…
The good news is, tomorrow morning, and every morning, God resets our being and we are given a new opportunity. The second good news is, it takes only ten minutes! Just ten minutes! Accumulating evidence over recent decades is showing the benefit of meditation (10-30 minutes or more) on the performance of executives in business organization. If the people in the world recognize the importance of taking time out of their busy lives to meditate, shouldn’t we the people of God spend at least ten minutes every morning with our Lord to be filled with Him? After all, we are all top executives and business partners of our Lord and Christ in this universal enterprise.
The Lord. His name. His Word. Our spirit. Ten minutes.
Very timely, thanks.
Thanks for this very infometive piece at leace ten minute per day
Lord Jesus.
Praise the Lord for Morning revival! I must say as a working saint i also need this 10 mins. for The Lord, His Name, His Word, my spirit every morning, just to be normal. This is direct and to me especially, may the lord cover me. Most of the time i really don’t get revived even after reading a lot. I thank the Lord for this enlightening, Lord! thank You for my ten mins. portion of You every morning. Lord! i don’t want to read, i need to get revived and live a holy life. My situation makes me sometimes rush, and get distracted by the things around, and not concentrate on You,Lord. I give my self to be not distracted by my environment, not being in my mind, emotion, or my will. Lord i just need to be revived each morning, for this reason, deliver me from my self each morning, bring me to nothing that i may give You 10 mins. Lord! just to be revived. I don’t want my work load to distract me, Lord! I need to have this intimacy with You each morning. I yearn for this hidden life with You Lord! just echoing Your hearts’ desire back to You, for You to bless me with Yourself. This is solemn to me and all of us working under tight schedules. May the Lord strengthen us all, Amen.
Very edifying. I shall be sending this link to saints whom I know can profit fromt this edification.
Amen! It is kind of easy to sometimes just “follow a routine” and loose the Lord from view… while at other times we may focus ONLY on praying and we don’t get into the Word… Every day we are learning and experiencing this – how to have a time with the Lord. Especially in the morning, we have all these helpful practices – but we really need to touch the Lord! 10mins or more – just open to Him to touch Him!
I love being “resetted” in the morning, or after a good portion of sleep – and then starting again with the Lord. Praise the Lord for new beginnings with the Lord, in our spirit, and in the Word!
Amen. I have never before seen the difference between morning revival and morning watch. This is a very helpful word for our morning time with the Lord, especially when we are limited by our schedule.
Lord, I consecrate at least the first 10 minutes of my time in the morning to be revived and filled with You. May You me more and more each day. Amen!
Praise the Lord for reminding us that we need to be revived by being in His presence every morning. Forget about yesterday or this morning – God resets our being every morning in which we are given a new opportunity to be revived!
Praise the Lord for what A great reminder! Lord I consecrate my first 10 minutes to You for me to be be revived, strengthen and filled with You. I concecrate also another 10 minutes for my morning watch. Lord, honor my Consecration!
Praise the Lord for this sweet reminder! With work, it’s so easy to get lost in a daily routine and forget what morning revival is all about! Oh Lord Jesus, I give you 10 minutes each morning to stop all my doing and all my thinking just to spend one-on-one time with you!
I have been practicing this with a couple of brothers and it is encouraging that we need ten minutes to get revived. We text each other and remind each other if have spent our ten minutes with the Lord each morning. This has been a great salvation for me because I use to just read through the Morning Revival and not get revived but know I get revived in the morning.
Excellent! Very practical and attainable. I really appreciate the distinction between the revival and the watch. This has helped simplify my time with the Lord. Praise Him!
I am really benefited from it. It really determines the progress in our christian life and church life. O Lord revive us and we follow after you. Amen
The Lord is so practical and available! I often am guilty of going straight to the “morning watch” with Holy Word for Morning Revival and missing out on the revival! How precious that the Lord gave us our human spirit, His precious name, and His holy word; with these tools, all it takes is 10 minutes to be revived each morning! Praise Him!
early in the morning is the best time to contact, experience, and enjoy the Lord. In the morning, we should never miss to touch the Lord. I am really impressed with the 5 things we need to do to be able to touch Him and be revived..Thank the Lord for His rich supply…
let us forget every outward activities,do not try to serve the Lord;doing so many things for Him ‘coz no matter what it is if without Christ, it is meaningless.It please God to reveal His Son to us ,in our spirit….focus on the inward life!
Praise the Lord for these 5 items!
The Lord!
His name!
His word!
Our spirit!
Ten Minutes!
May the Lord cultivate such a living in us. Even business executives set apart some time! How much more should we?! This is the most foundational matter!
“…the point is that in the end we are revived, or in other words, filled, refreshed, strengthened, enlightened, energized, vivified, made happy, etc. As a practical handle, however, we should pay attention to 5 things.”
Hallelujah! Amen!
Amen. I enjoyed the 5 points as well. This is indeed practical and attainable. Saints, lets give our precious Lord 10 mins. then we can do morning watch later. the 10 mins we give Him a drink, we consecrate ourselves in the day of His warfare. PTL!