“In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.” Psalm 5:3
There is great power in each morning. It is the beginning of a day within a life, the beginning of 24 hours that will follow the precedent set by the morning it follows. The morning routine prevails over the day, and it is thus that we find so much mentioned in God’s Word about the importance of the start of each day. We see Jesus rise early, while it is still dark, and go to have prayer and quiet time with the Father in Mark 1:35. You can also find at least 39 other verses in scripture that mention the importance of rising early and properly utilizing God’s gift of mornings. Nineteenth century English preacher Charles Spurgeon was quoted as, “An hour in the morning is worth two in the evening, while the dew is on the grass, let grace drop upon the soul.” The importance of mornings has even saturated secular culture with this little-known quote from Benjamin Franklin, “Early morning hath gold in its mouth.” So God, as well as the wise of the world, are delivering a message about our mornings and how important they are. The question is, how are you using your mornings?
King David offers up yet another beautiful plea in Psalm 5. And within it we see just a glimpse of his morning routine, his morning approach to God, his morning prayer, and his reaction to that morning time with the Lord throughout his day. After arising from a peaceful night’s slumber, the very first thing on David’s mind was the Lord. Before David flipped on the news and imbibed on the negativity of world, before David went to Facebook, before David checked his text messages Instagram and Twitter, He went to be quiet and hear from the Lord. At youth camp in Maui, we had a little saying with the students that would help them in breaking the addiction to their cell phones…”before you go to your phone, go to the throne.” You see, much of the world today is in a vicious, unsatisfying morning routine. They stay up late, get up late and then rush off to start the day with nary a thought of starting it properly. But the child of God is called to a different morning. That is, proper quiet time to pray, study God’s Word, and process the message the Holy Spirit has for you. You see, God wants to prepare you for the day He has made for you.
Yes, God has a very specific plan for your day, but do you know what it is? Do you know how He expects you to approach it and how He prefers you to react to the situations He has placed within it? If you don’t start your day listening to His wise counsel, you are shooting at a target in the dark. Beyond David’s morning time with the Lord, it’s valuable to see how he followed up throughout His day. You see, he didn’t just read a motivational Bible meme and then charge right into his day unaffected. He poured out his heart unto the Lord in the morning and then eagerly watched for the Lord to work on those prayers throughout his day. The different translations of the ending of Psalm 5:3 are: he “eagerly watches”, he “looks up”, he “waits expectantly”, and he “watches for” the Lord’s answer. I pray that today your morning routine starts with the Lord. That as you rise in the morning, the first thing on your mind is praising, worshipping, and spending time with your Lord and Creator. That the start of your day revolves around the One that created you, your mind, and yes, your today. And that as you seek His will for your day and cast your cares upon Him, that you will continue to look for Him throughout your day. That in confidence in your Savior, you will expectantly look unto the Heavens, knowing that your prayers are heard, He is at work, and He is involved in every aspect of your life. For a life that starts every day with Jesus, is starting the day right.
“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.” Psalm 143:8
“Fill us each morning with your constant love, so that we may sing and be glad all our life.” Psalm 90:14
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