The Jesus-Inspired Morning Routine That Changed My Life
What’s your morning routine?
You have one whether you plan it or not.
Morning used to be the worst part of my day. My alarm would go off, I’d hit snooze, but soon the kids would barge in wanting breakfast.
I’d look at the clock, realize how late we were, and panic.
My kids need to be dressed, fed, and off to school. If we didn’t hurry, my wife and I would be late for work. And heaven forbid there be any traffic because I had an early meeting and no time to spare.
After work, I’d hurry home to help with dinner, take my kids to their activities, help with homework, and then put the kids in bed. Then, my wife and I would talk for a bit or stay up too late watching Netflix together before we passed out, exhausted.
The next day would be the same thing all over again. I couldn’t keep doing this.
But one day a Bible verse about Jesus changed my life. I’d read it countless of times before, but never put it to the test.habi
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35).
I always say that I want to be more like Jesus, but Jesus was a morning person. I was a stay up late and hit the snooze button three times person.
Did Jesus know something I didn’t? It was worth a try.
I noticed that Jesus did three things that I didn’t do:
- Jesus got up early, before the sun. I got up late, cursing the sun.
- Jesus left the house and walked somewhere. I drove everywhere.
- Jesus spent time with God alone. My kids never left me alone.
So I wrote out a little plan that was easy to remember and follow. Then, I set my phone alarm for 5:30 am and went to bed early.
It was hard to wake up the first few mornings, but I felt the difference almost immediately.
I wasn’t stressed. I wasn’t yelling, “Kids, hurry! We’re late!” I had plenty of time.
Soon I noticed that I had more energy, felt better, and was getting more done every day.
Plus, my wife keeps saying how much happier I seem and how much smoother our family runs. And you know what they say: Happy wife, happy life.
So here’s the morning routine I now follow.
Morning REPS (30-60 minutes)
Every morning, I wake up at 5:30 am (before my kids get up at 6:30), and do what I call my “Morning REPs.”
It’s a simple acronym for my routine: Read, Exercise, Pray, Shower. It helps me remember my focus of wanting to be more like Jesus every day because training requires daily reps.
The order I follow is more like ERPS, but that’s not a word.
Here’s how it breaks down for me.
- Read (10-20 Minutes): Jesus spent time alone with God. Part of spending time with God involves hearing from God. So I read my Bible every day. In a few minutes a day, I read the whole Bible every year.
- Exercise (10-15 Minutes): Jesus left the house. Now, I don’t know if this was for exercise purposes. He walked everywhere. But since I drive everywhere, my exercise was lacking. So, I leave my house like Jesus every morning and go for a quick run. My goal is a mile a day. If I pushed for more, I would burn myself out and tempted to quit. One mile every day is far better than three miles only one day. And because of this discipline, I lost weight and have more energy to attack the day. (Time: 10-15 Minutes)
- Pray (5-15 Minutes): Jesus prayed in solitude. So I spend time every morning alone with God in prayer. Praying before my kids wake up affords me the solitude that I need to focus on God.
- Shower (5-10 Minutes): I don’t know if Jesus washed every morning, but I sweat a lot after a run. I need to shower before anyone is unfortunate enough to smell me. So I take a quick, cold shower because (1) it helps me stop sweating and (2) I read that cold showers help energize you and make you more alert.
I need my morning REPS. It was hard at first, but now it’s a habit. I crave this time.
Jesus knew what he was doing, and I’ve never been disappointed by imitating him.
Mornings have gone from the worst to the best part of my day.
12 Morning Challenge
If this resonates with you, here’s my challenge: follow Jesus’ example for the next 12 days (because twelve is a good biblical number).
Get up early, go for a walk (or run), and spend time alone with God.
Follow my Morning REPS, or do whatever works for you. I guarantee you’ll feel the difference.
You will be less stressed, more energized, and more devoted to walking daily with Jesus.
If you take the 12 Morning Challenge, let me know. I’d love to hear about your experience!
This is where God has been leading me. Morning excercise, prayer, Bible study, shower and go! Thanks for the showing the before and after. God bless!
It is my hearts desire to be like Jesus and I have been wanting to be consistent about a morning routine. I will do my reps daily, to glorify our savior he’s worthy of my devotion.
Thank You
I believe this is an answer to a prayer, as for the past 3 years I have been staying up all night, then sleeping during the day. The guilt I’ve carried because of this has been a heavy burden. Because of your article, I feel hopeful for the very first time. I’m going to (like you :)) follow Jesus. And even if I haven’t slept at all (in the beginning) start my day at 5:30 am and do my REPS or 12 Morning Challenge. Thank you Jesus for NEVER giving up on me. And thank you Brandon for your article. God bless you and your family.
Your past mornings sound just like my past mornings!
I wake up after the sun, cursing it to go back down. I rush around and feel sick at my stomach because there’s already too much in my day to be able to get done so why even try in the first place?
These comments right here:
Did Jesus know something I didn’t? It was worth a try.
Jesus knew what he was doing, and I’ve never been disappointed by imitating him.
Mornings have gone from the worst to the best part of my day.
I’ve been really really aching for a way to move forward in my spiritual life and I think this is the next step to take. I often wonder, why does it seem like other people have time to do things they enjoy and get extra stuff done, and I’m always struggling to do the bare minimum like keep the clothes clean and the dishes done?
I’m always excited when I discover a new way to progress spiritually but I think this one is gonna HURT~
I pray I will not love the WORLD more than GOD by choosing sleep over HIM again and again!!
I can give similar confirmation to this article
I used to be gripped with anxiety about night time because I never slept well. Until I learned and discovered that the Lord hands out His best gifts in the middle of the night aka early morning. If you are a follower of Christ Jesus and you wake up start to discipline and train yourself to hear the voice and direction of the Father and not the worlds concerns ..I now believe if you are one that wakes up around 2,3 or 4 o’clock it’s not by accident but like Samuel you need to ask what is it Lord your servant is listening …this has changed my life and grown my life with Christ to another level it’s amazing when you discover the living God and I believe it’s in the quiet hours the intimate early morning aka middle of the night hours. I went from fear to faith, (personal testimony) where fear once was faith now remains 🙌🏼
God loves you He has good things and good plans for you plans to prosper and not to harm you God is jealous for you He wants your heart in full not in part. Learn your shepherd’s voice He is alive and living and He is Emanuel! Lord pour your Spirit out on those who read this, and cover them with your goodness and kindness, show them your mercy and power. 🙏🏼
The 99
Clintmonk@icloud.com🙌🏽
Spiritually energized.
Thank you so much for this! This sounds like a great way to start the day, my dad and I have been planning on doing more things in the morning. I will let him know about this. Before school each day I think this would be a great way to refresh myself and be ready for the tough school day ahead.
Contact me: jly.impact@gmail.com
Thanks so much! This sounds like a lot of fun and a good routine to keep in mind. Before school each day I will remind my dad to get up with me in the morning and do a quick jog/run, then when I get back I could do all the things I need to do to get ready and refreshed for a good day. Bless you and your family!
Superb article! THANK YOU!!!
Thank you so much
This is what I have been looking for! I needed a routine with God and a new life with actually having time with God to learn and grow daily. It’s so hard with little children to find time. Thank you for this!
God bless you and your family
I enjoyed this, thank you.
Hfu
Thank you! I’ll take this as a confirmation that I need to try it out!
Sarah please inbox me, robbiappiah@gmail.com
God bless you
Thank you for sharing
May God’s blessings be upon you and your family
Thanks for sharing!
Sounds just like what Jesus ordered for me!
Thank you, for the push and confirmation!
Wow. This makes sense. I need to do it too.
I agree. I’m also kinda freaked out that we’ve both come to this article today!
What a wonderful way to start the day, focus on what’s most important, organize your thoughts and 💡ideas, plan your day, implement positivity and further progress in your own life in order to be a better example and become a positive role-model.
;o love this