Julie Fillinger

What is First Light  

First Light , also known as Nautical Dawn in the science world, is the time before sunrise when the sky begins to brighten. I see it as a the very first glimpse of light that just begins to break through the night announcing my Lord and my God has come to meet with me. And He always comes.  

I have been meeting my Lord at First Light since the Fall of 2023. One evening Eric asked me to join him on a hike the next morning so we could see First Light together. Eric arises at 4:30 am and can hike like a mountain goat, so I had to clarify exactly what this entailed. We would arrive at our destination while it was still dark so when we climbed to the top of the hill, we would be there waiting for First Light. I somewhat reluctantly said, “okay, I’m in.” 

There was a nice chill to the morning and the hill was manageable, so far so good. We settled in to the spot Eric thought would be the most climactic. And we watched and waited. Waiting is part of the experience, but so is watching. Because you don’t know the exact moment it’s coming, and if you are not watching expectantly, you will miss it. I was afraid to blink. 

Then it happened. The sky broke forth with the tiniest glimmer of light, and it was if our Lord and God came just for us to bid us Good Morning! We stayed for the sunrise, which was also glorious. Then we finished our hike and went to The Sunflour Bakery for breakfast. But it was First Light that kept me captivated. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

My First Light Prayer  

I started waking 30 minutes before sunrise every morning, grabbing my coffee, sitting in my glider, watching and waiting for First Light. And every morning God would greet me. This went on for months as I prayed, 

Praying a Psalm added stability  

Then the dreaded time change came and threatened to sabotage my efforts. There have been some mornings I roll over with one eye barely open, squinting at First Light , saying, “good morning Lord. I am coming, but I need a minute.” He is still very gracious, but it’s not the same as sitting with expectant anticipation for Him to meet me as He breaks through the dark and whispers to me with His light. 

Praying a Psalm every morning at First Light radically changed my prayer life. I would start basically the same every morning, but that lasted about 5 minutes. And then I was thinking, okay now what? As I turned the Psalm into a prayer, the Lord brought much to mind to pray for, mostly people.  Then I started organizing lists of those I pray for according to the day of the week and entered them in my phone calendar. Now, I pray the same basic opening, pray the Psalm of the day, then pray for each individual on the list, and finish by texting individuals to let them know I prayed for them.  

Now I am part of the miracle  

This all takes about an hour. So it’s good I get up before First Light! Slowly, God has shown me over time how He uses humility to do miracles, small and big, in the lives of people I love. It requires them to be humble to voice the request and me to be humble to bring it before our Father, recognizing He has the power and unleashes it by His Spirit when we ask according to His will. I am but a small part in the big plan, but nothing is sweeter. And it makes me want to do it all over again tomorrow! I have even started praying for myself! Trusting God is able and willing, I ask for the desires of my heart with a view that His answer is in context of all eternity. I am waiting with expectant anticipation to see what comes next.  

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