A colleague of mine once shared her morning routine with me. It consisted of prayer, worship and a sit-down breakfast, plus all the usual stuff. I marvelled at her revelation, and still do. The serenity of her morning couldn't have been more removed from my own. Accustomed to waking up an hour before I needed to leave for work, my routine left no time for a proper breakfast, let alone pre-work worship or prayer. I was aware of the practical benefits that waking up earlier could have, and the apparent health benefits – better sleeping patterns, a healthier diet – but I'd never considered how it could aid my spiritual growth.

A lack of time is the reason we often give for why we haven't achieved a goal or made progress with a task, but often it's our inability to make time that's at the root of the problem. Whether you're more familiar with my morning or my colleague's, there are indisputable benefits to waking up earlier. If you're planning on trying it, or remain unconvinced as to how it could help you, here are four ways you can utilise your extra time to assist your spiritual growth.

Take a moment for morning prayer
We can be so busy getting ourselves together in the morning that prayer doesn't form part of our routine. Waking up earlier means that we have more time at our disposal and we can devote those extra minutes to talking to God.

Wake yourself up with worship
Worship isn't just for Sundays but sometimes our schedules can confine it to just one day of the week. When we don't consider ourselves to be natural early risers, the morning can be the least favourite part of our day. Setting our minds on someone we love, Jesus, can help us to banish the early bird blues.

Less stressing, more blessings
I'm not saying that we'll be blessed more if we stress less, but that we'll have more time to recognise and appreciate the blessings that God's bestowed upon us. A frenzied morning rush leaves no time for giving thanks because we're too busy focusing on how little time, among other things, we have.

Exercise
Looking after our physical health is important too and it ties in strongly with our spiritual maturity. A brief walk before getting ready for the day ahead can help us combine our efforts to improve our physical and spiritual fitness. Early morning exercise can also clear our minds and invite us take stock of the beauty of God's creation by watching a sunrise or listening to the birds sing, things we rarely appreciate in a rush.

Switching up our morning routine might seem impossible but we can incorporate at least one these activities into our daily routine by waking up just 15 minutes earlier than we need to for work.