What’s your favorite time of day?
This essentially should and could be always! The Earth we live on demonstrates this!
We live in a physical world with its four known space-time dimensions of length, width, height (or depth) and time. However, God dwells in a different realm—the spirit realm—beyond the perception of our physical senses. It’s not that God isn’t real; it’s a matter of His not being limited by the physical laws and dimensions that govern our world (Isaiah 57:15). Knowing that “God is spirit” (John 4:24), what is His relationship to time?
In Psalm 90:4, Moses used a simple yet profound analogy in describing the timelessness of God: “For a thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.” The eternity of God is contrasted with the temporality of man. Our lives are but short and frail, but God does not weaken or fail with the passage of time.
In a sense, the marking of time is irrelevant to God because He transcends it. Peter, in 2 Peter 3:8, cautioned his readers not to let this one critical fact escape their notice—that God’s perspective on time is far different from Mankind’s (Psalm 102:12, 24-27). The Lord does not count time as we do. He is above and outside of the sphere of time. God sees all of eternity’s past and eternity’s future. The time that passes on earth is of no consequence from God’s timeless perspective. A second is no different from an eon; a billion years pass like seconds to the eternal God.
Though we cannot possibly comprehend this idea of eternity or the timelessness of God, we in our finite minds try to confine an infinite God to our time schedule. Those who foolishly demand that God operate according to their time frame ignore the fact that He is the “High and Lofty One . . . who lives forever” (Isaiah 57:15). This description of God is far removed from Man’s condition: “The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10).
Again, because of our finite minds, we can only grasp the concept of God’s timeless existence in part. And in so doing, we describe Him as a God without a beginning or end, eternal, infinite, everlasting, etc. Psalm 90:2 declares, “From everlasting to everlasting You are God” (see also Psalm 93:2). He always was and always will be.
So, what is time? To put it simply, time is duration. Our clocks mark change or, more precisely, our timepieces are benchmarks of change that indicate the passage of time. We could say, then, that time is a necessary precondition for change and change is a sufficient condition to establish the passage of time. In other words, whenever there’s change of any kind we know that time has passed. We see this as we go through life, as we age. And we cannot recover the minutes that have passed by.
Additionally, the science of physics tells us that time is a property resulting from the existence of matter. As such, time exists when matter exists. But God is not matter; God, in fact, created matter. The bottom line is this: time began when God created the universe. Before that, God was simply existing. Since there was no matter, and because God does not change, time had no existence and therefore no meaning, no relation to Him.
And this brings us to the meaning of the word eternity. Eternity is a term used to express the concept of something that has no end and/or no beginning. God has no beginning or end, but He cannot be wholly defined by eternity, especially as a measure of time. (God is eternal, but eternity does not equal God. Similarly, God is all-powerful, but power does not equal God.) Eternity is one of God’s attributes, but, having created time, He is greater than time and exists outside of it.
Scripture reveals that God lives outside the bounds of time as we know it. Our destiny was planned “before the beginning of time” (2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2) and “before the creation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:20). “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Hebrews 11:3). In other words, the physical universe we see, hear, feel and experience was created not from existing matter, but from a source independent of the physical dimensions we can perceive.
“God is spirit” (John 4:24), and, correspondingly, God is timeless rather than being eternally in time or being beyond time. Time was simply created by God as a limited part of His creation for accommodating the workings of His purpose in His disposable universe (see 2 Peter 3:10-12).
Upon the completion of His creation activity, including the creation of time, what did God conclude? “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Gen 1:31). Indeed, God is spirit in the realm of timelessness, rather than flesh in the sphere of time.
As believers, we have a deep sense of comfort knowing that God, though timeless and eternal, is in time with us right now; He is not unreachably transcendent, but right here in this moment with us. And because He’s in this moment, He can respond to our needs and prayers.
So, a lengthy answer for a brief question! 🤔 Morning hours, indicate a start to a day! In many cases this is an end to a ‘night shift’; so ‘time’ varies for many. Start of an individuals waking moments vary even in the same city!
In the past, some places on earth had individuals who needed to be awake whilst others slept! What was/is their morning?
A brief answer is time in The Presence of my Creator is beyond AWESOME, Amen.
Do you wonder if there is a certain time of day that is best for Bible reading and prayer? Many Christians set aside a special time each day to be alone with God. In some circles this is known as “Quiet Time” or “Daily Devotions” and is typically spent reading the Bible and praying.
Perhaps you have given thought to cultivating such a practice. If so, I applaud you and wish you much success in the pursuit of a daily meeting with God. But if you’re busy, as most of us are, it may be a challenge to determine what time of day is best for you.
So let’s turn to the Bible to see what other believers have done in this regard.
1. In the morning.
It is easy to make a compelling argument for Bible reading and prayer as soon as you arise. What a great way to start the day – in the presence of Almighty God! You start the day thinking about God and filling your mind and heart with His truth. And you can bring your prayer requests before Him and ask for the help you’ll need to face the day.
This is why David wrote, “Morning by morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; morning by morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation” (Psalm 5:3).
2. At night.
At the other end of the spectrum, many Christians like to end the day with a special time with Jesus. You can read, study and meditate on the Word and go to sleep with God’s truth in your heart. You can also reflect on the events of that day, bringing requests before the Lord related to people you just encountered or situations that are fresh in your mind.
And so the psalmist could declare, “At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws” (Psalm 119:62). Of course, you don’t have to wait till the clock strikes 12 to spend time with your God!
3. At noon.
So first thing in the morning certainly seems like a good time to commune with God; so does the end of the day. Other Christians see the need to carve out time in the middle of the day – even those who work all day may prefer to spend their lunch break with Jesus than their co-workers.
David could pray to God any time – “Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice” (Psalm 55:17).
Perhaps by now you’ve come to the same conclusion as me – any time of day is the best time to pursue God. Having your Quiet Time in the morning is not the 11th Commandment. If you are eager to experience the blessing of God by spending time in the Word and prayer, you’ll be like the person whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2).