Hear these valuable words for preachers from Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix regarding getting rest the day before preaching:
Most preachers don’t get enough rest. For whatever reasons, many are night owls and seem to come alive in the late hours. Such practice obviously makes it harder to get up early in the morning. A conscious effort to go to bed earlier will pay off the following day. Some experts have said that every hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours after midnight. This theory proves to be true for most people.
The pastor especially needs to get adequate rest the day prior preaching. Try to take that day off each week. Relax your mind completely. Do some things you enjoy doing. Spend some leisure time with your wife and children. Try not to think too much about your upcoming sermons. Before you go to bed, get alone for a brief time to go over your message. Try to saturate your soul with the content of the sermon. Spend some time in prayer, talking to the Lord about the message. Then go to bed for a good night’s rest. When the time comes to preach, you will be rested and ready.
Vines and Shaddix, Power in the Pulpit (Chicago: Moody, 2017), 117-18.
