Every true follower of Christ longs to pray more. We may not understand how to pray (the disciples didn’t), and we may not value prayer as we should. But if we are Christians, there is an inherent sense that we should pray and pray more.
The Psalmist understood the value of beginning the day in prayer.
Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice. In the morning, I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch. (Psalm 5:2-3)
Notice his prayers were ...
I will order my prayer to You. (Vs. 3)
Prayer is to and with Someone. It is the privilege of literally talking with our Father and hearing from Him. The Psalmist’s prayers were not a shout into the wind or a random conversation to a “Higher Power.” He learned the art of communing with God.
But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house. At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You. (Psalm 5:7)
We can pray anywhere in the world at any time. But when we pray, we are entering into His throne room. We are coming to Him. We have been invited to come and introduced by Jesus, by faith, into this “grace in which we now stand” (Romans 5:2). We have the glorious privilege of entering in.
In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice. (Vs. 3)
The Psalmist had developed the habit of morning prayer. It is an optimum time for multiple reasons.
• We can review the day with the Lord, hearing His heart and finding His direction.
• There are fewer interruptions.
• We start the day positively, hearing from the God of the universe.
It has been my experience to rise when the Lord wakes me. For many years, I have rarely had to set an alarm. We need less sleep than we think. Morning devotions indicate the overwhelming priority of setting our minds on Him as we begin each day and throughout the day.
I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch. (Vs. 3)
The Psalmist not only prayed to the Lord, but he waited on the Lord to hear from Him and receive from Him. This is best accomplished by Word-driven prayer: reading and meditating on His Word and then praying in what we see, asking God to apply it to every area of our lives and those we love. And here’s the great promise: “You will hear my voice.” What a privilege! We can literally have the attention of God as we draw near to Him!
But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house. (Psalm 5:7)
The Psalmist knew and acknowledged that he could enter God’s presence only by grace. His entrance was a result of God’s love and kindness, which (like all God's attributes) are always “abundant.”
I will bow in reverence for You (Vs. 7)
The arrogant have no interest in meeting with God and rarely come. There is but one real, heart posture as we come before God. We bow. Whether we’re standing in a crowd of a thousand, or in our room on our face before Him, our heart is bowed in awe for the inexpressible privilege. And we gladly defer to Him, surrendering all before our King.
Do you order your life to enter God’s presence and meet with Him daily? Personally? Early? Eagerly? Gratefully? Humbly? It will yield fruit you cannot imagine and a presence-centered life that prepares you for each day and all of eternity. And, it is a blessing to your Father that you come.
