“Listen to my words, O Lord, give heed to my sighing and groaning. Hear the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to You do I pray. In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord; in the morning I prepare [a prayer, a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].” Psalm 5:1-3 (Amplified Bible)
Here we find a Davidic Psalm which was sung with wind instrument, such as a flute or pipe. It could be said that David intently and fervently prayed to God regarding his life circumstances. He did so expecting God to hear and move upon his situation. There are times when words do not come to us and we are speechless in our effort to cry out to God. It is then that the Spirit who is within us sighs and groans on our behalf for the Holy Spirit knows not only what we need, but also what we are asking for. David acknowledges to his God that it is to Him and Him alone that he prays. This shows us the confidence Israel’s king has in his God and illustrates the confidence we too should have.
The morning is a time before any person becomes embroiled in daily activities. It is this time of day that David prepares his sacrifices to God and prays. Unfortunately, as Christians in this modern world with all its conveniences, we hop out of bed, grab coffee, some sort of instant sustenance such as a bagel, muffin or protein bar and we are out the door at 100 miles per hour. We’ve fallen in the trap so many before us have fallen into. We allow no time to prepare our heart for the coming day. If I were not spending my mornings reading and writing I would be rushing about as well. The schedule this world demands of us doesn’t lend itself to solitary time with yourself, let alone God.
David wakes, prepares himself to meet with God, watches and waits. I’ve written a whole book* on the topic of waiting on God. It isn’t an easy thing to do; yet David says he waits. I would suspect that though the other translations do not include what the Amplified translation states in parentheses, the implication is pretty clear. What else would David be waiting for? He was waiting for his God to speak to him. Being the King of all of Israel, no one would dare rush him as he goes about his reverential duties before God. However, being on the pressed time schedules that we are on regularly, something or someone seems to always be demanding of our time. It is imperative that we find time to commune with our God. Communing is not just complaining about unanswered prayers or rattling off a laundry list of requests; rather, it is having a conversation with God where we speak, but we also listen … to His word. We don’t have to do this, but we can and what a privilege it is to be able to spend time with the one true living God and creator of all things.
Walk with the King today and be a blessing!
* There Are No McDonald's In Heaven: Waiting on God; RL Keller; WestBow Press; 2012.
