Knowing the Presence of God in the PsalmsSýnishorn

Morning Time

“Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."

Psalm 5: 1 – 3 (NIV84)

It was an early Sunday morning when I arrived on church property to meet with one of the pastors to discuss my small role in the church service. The service was to begin within the hour. As I walked down the church hallway to the church office to meet the pastor, the office door opened. The pastor I was to meet with came out, wiping tears from his face. I was concerned, and my immediate thoughts were that he had just been informed of some tragedy that had occurred within our church community. I asked, “Are you okay?” Surprisingly, he smiled at me and said, “Yes, I was meeting with the Lord and spending some time in worship.” That moment occurred over 40 years ago. It left a powerful mark on my soul. That pastor and I would become great friends. He was an example of the truths recorded in Psalm 5.

“In the morning” meant more than you might know to the ancient Israelites. “In the morning” began to take on a more prominent importance in the days of Moses. The Lord gave him other instructions besides the Ten Commandments to pass down to the people. These instructions were the steps the people were to take to maintain a favored relationship with the Lord. They were instructions that would protect and bless them as they faithfully carried out each step as directed by the Lord. One of these instructions was about how to begin and finish their day.

Numbers 28:1 - 4, “The Lord said to Moses, “Give this command to the Israelites and say to them: ‘See that you present to me at the appointed time the food for my offerings made by fire, as an aroma pleasing to me.’ Say to them: ‘This is the offering made by fire that you are to present to the Lord: two lambs a year old without defect, as a regular burnt offering each day. Prepare one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight,”

The significance of “in the morning and the other at twilight” was a message to the Israelites that they were to begin and end the day remembering the salvation of the Lord. Every day was a day of grace. The daily offering of the lamb was a foreshadowing of another offering and a day of grace that would occur several hundred years later in Jerusalem on a cross on a hill called Calvary. That day would also be a day that the people of God were to acknowledge and remember daily and forever.

The word “morning” appears in the first chapter of the Bible. God created the morning and the evening (Genesis 1:5). Ever since these realities have occurred every single day. God had a purpose in creating the morning, and the Psalmist did his best to align his life accordingly. Morning has a unique character that evening does not. It has been a special time of the day for many of those we read about in Scripture. Moses, David, and Jesus (Mark 1:35; Luke 4:38) aligned themselves with God's creative intent for the morning.

Specifically, what did David do In the morning? He aligned his heart and soul with the Lord. In verses one and two, he asks the Lord to consider my sighing and to listen to my cry for help. He started his day by offloading what had been on his heart throughout the night. Then, in verse three, his soul transitions from a cry for help to a declaration of faith. He affirms that God has heard his voice and received his requests. For the rest of the Psalm, nine verses, he writes with confidence and faith in the Lord.

I have many friends who are genuinely morning people. They rise from their beds while the sun has yet to rise. I am not one of those people. I am more of an after-sunrise kind of person. For many, the morning is full of activity. Setting aside time to pray and be with the Lord before the morning activity begins seems to be a near-impossible task. And yet, a near-impossible task is not an impossible task. Friend, there is a rich blessing available to those who align themselves with the creative intent of God for each morning. If it were not important to spend time with the Lord in the morning, then the Lord would have never modeled the importance of doing so nor instituted daily spiritual practices for His people to observe.

If rising in the morning to be with the Lord is a new practice for you or you feel it would be a near-impossible task, consider aligning yourself with God’s creative intention in ways you can achieve. Write a Scripture on a card and place it next to your bed. When you wake in the morning, sit up, and before you stand up, say to the Lord, “Good morning, Lord. I surrender this day to you. Lead me and guide me today. I read this verse in your presence to strengthen my faith and to walk according to your will for my life.”

In the morning has become a special time of the day for me. I pray the following poem by an unknown in the morning Christ-follower encourages you.

In the quiet of the dawn, Before the world awakes and yawns,
I find a peace so deep and wide, With Christ, my Savior, by my side.

His presence fills the air I breathe, His strength in me, I do believe.
Each morning’s light, His love anew, Guides me in all I say and do.