Q: I normally pray in the morning, thanking God for keeping us safe through the night, but I have my personal devotional time at night when I study the Bible for 30-45 minutes before going to sleep. Is it wrong to have devotions at night rather than in the morning? — Mawethu, from South Africa
A: Mawethu, it’s always good to study the Bible and pray, no matter what time of day or night. Having a regular personal devotional time is very important to maintaining a strong and growing connection with God, and I’m glad to see that you recognize the importance of this.
While it is certainly not “wrong” to have your devotions at night before going to bed, may I suggest that you also consider extending your time in the morning, consecrating yourself to God asking Him to specifically guide you that day? One of the ways that He does that is through His Word and prayer.
When I was a young man in my first year of college, my father gave me a very precious gift. He wrote out the following beautiful quotation from the Spirit of Prophecy, which I carried in my Bible. I lost that one and asked him to write another copy which I still have in my Bible today:
“Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, ‘Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee.’
“This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate. Thus day by day you may be giving your life into the hands of God, and thus your life will be molded more and more after the life of Christ” (“Steps to Christ,” p. 70).
Again, I’m so glad that having a daily devotional time is important to you. I am sure that you will always be grateful for taking the time to connect with our God through prayer and the study of His Word each day!