Thomas Murphy

Piety to be cultivated by a morning hour of devotion.

In all the counsels which we purpose giving for the guidance of the pastor we want to be as specific as possible. We do not intend to rest in mere general observations, which might be important, but would not lead to the practical results we desire. Our suggestion now is, that the pastor set apart the first hour of every day for uninterrupted communion with God. We would have the first and best of the minister’s time rigidly devoted to the divine service. Most pastors, by a little arrangement of duties and by a little self-denial, could carry out this important rule. Those with whom it would be absolutely impossible might set apart some other hour of the day, but the first hour is the best. We will not dwell on the other benefits that would accrue, such as the economizing of time and the establishing of regular habits, but we would say that the spiritual benefits could scarcely be exaggerated. A whole morning hour spent in reading the word of God, in prayer and in spiritual meditation, what an influence it would have upon the life! How could the direction of Christ be better obeyed, or the resulting blessing more certainly secured? “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly!” Let the first hour of the day, then, before food, before family, before daily avocations, be made sacred to the Lord.

In the life and work of the minister especially it is all important that there should be specific and long periods of devotion. He should observe the rule to be in the spirit of prayer always, but there should be a definite and considerable time for it daily. He should have such a period every day, when the world would be resolutely excluded, when the mind would dwell long and intently on spiritual things, when the divine word would be read and applied to self very deliberately, when the soul would be kept in prolonged communion with God, when the realities of the spiritual and eternal would be made more impressive, and when the mind might be toned up to a braver grappling with the trials and the duties of life.

The importance of this morning hour of communion with God will be seen when the responsibility of the minister’s office is considered. He has a great work to do, and every day which he spends is so much taken from the aggregate of time given him for that work. He never commences a day that will not bring him something in which he will need divine guidance. Every day with him has its own work–a work to which he was never called before, and will never be called again. During any day upon which he enters he may be sorely tempted, or he may be called to the awful duty of ministering to persons nigh unto death, or to counsel the inquiring, or to preach a sermon that will be the savor of life unto life or of death unto death to some soul, or to decide questions of duty in critical emergencies; or he may have opportunities of influencing by words fitly spoken, or of setting an example that will help souls forward on the way of life. Every day he lives his soul may make progress in grace and in the experience of heavenly love. Day by day the pastor is to stand as an intercessor before the throne of grace, bearing the names of the flock committed to his charge. How can a pastor enter upon any day of such solemn responsibility without making sure of divine help during every moment?

The practice of spending the first hour of the day in secret prayer is recommended by the highest example. It is said of one of our most eminent statesmen, at a time when most responsible duties to the country rested on him, that his morning hour was always spent in imploring the help of the great Ruler of the nations. A distinguished judge acknowledged his success in his profession as owing to the hour he daily spent with God. General Havelock, though burdened with the care of the army during the terrible mutiny in India, managed to keep sacred for prayer a long time in the morning of each day. Other honored names might be added, as those of Bacon, and the great astronomer Kepler, and the historian De Thou, of whom it is related that every morning “he implored God in private to purify his heart, to banish from it hatred and flattery, to enlighten his mind, and to make known to him the truth which so many passions and conflicting interests had almost buried.” This also was the custom of one guided by the Divine Spirit, for David’s resolution was, “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” The testimony of that most godly man, Philip Henry, speaking of one of his studying days, was, “I forgot, when I began, explicitly and expressly to crave help from God, and the chariot-wheels drove accordingly. Lord, forgive my omission, and keep me in the way of duty!” What higher example and encouragement could we have for this practice?

It is recommended that the morning hour be set apart for devotion, because that hour can more generally be commanded, and because the mind is then clearer and better fitted for communion with God. Most pastors could so arrange their daily duties as to have that hour statedly to themselves. Then they would not be interrupted by any of the ordinary claims of the day; the mind would be refreshed and calm, and the world would not often intrude. It could easily be an hour kept sacred to God and the soul and the profound interests of eternity.

The influence of this morning hour of undisturbed fellowship with God would be felt all the day. Not simply would its prayers be answered, but a tone of spirituality would spring out from it and pervade all. The presence of Christ would be felt in every hour and every act, and this would save from innumerable mistakes and perplexities. A blessed restraint would be imposed from the remembrance of the hour when the heart burned with love, and from the anticipation of again meeting with Christ in the sweet morning devotions. An elevated tone of Christian life would thus be imparted to the whole day. Duty would be turned into pleasure, trials would be moderated and every true enjoyment would be rendered doubly sweet. The consciousness that the day was devoted to God would keep it all a scene of worship and make this life but the commencement of heaven. Oh it would be a most blessed thing for every pastor to make sacred this morning hour of prayer! Thoughtfully has one written of it: “Prayer, prayer, prayer, the first, second and third elements of the Christian life, should open, prolong and conclude each day. The first act of the soul in early morning should be a draught at the heavenly fountain. It will sweeten the taste for the day. If you can have but ten minutes with God at that fresh, tranquil and tender season, make sure of those minutes. They are of more value than much fine gold. But if you tarry long so sweetly at the throne, you will come out of the closet as the high priest of Israel came from the awful ministry at the altar of incense, suffused all over with the heavenly fragrance of that communion.”

This habit, once formed, will become an invaluable element of the pastor s strength. It may require some effort arid some self-denial at first, but soon it will grow easy and prove that hour the most attractive of all the hours of the day. It will be looked forward to as the time of sweet refreshment of the soul. When one has learned to relish this hour of devotion he has acquired a great element of power in his ministerial work. The practice cannot be recommended too strongly. We beg that the recommendation be not looked upon as visionary or trivial. Let time be given for communion with God before the ordinary duties of the day are entered upon. The pastor with a work for eternity staring him in the face cannot afford to do without anything that would help him–certainly not without such a grand agency of spiritual power as this.