"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up."
Psalm 5:3
Part 3
Yesterday: It is the LORD We Pray To
“O, LORD.”
It is to Jehovah, the LORD, God the Father that we direct our prayer too. He is our loving and all-wise Father that we direct our petitions.
Today: Our Prayers are to Have Direction
“In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee.”
“In the Morning,” and again “In the Morning”
David repeats these words in verse three. He seems to be saying, “LORD, every morning I will pray to you.” It is good before our day begins to spend time with our Lord in preparation for the day.
“But I, O LORD, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you” (Psalm 88:13, ESV).[1]
“I get up early in the morning to pray to you. I trust what you say” (Psalm 119:147, HSB).[2]
The work of the Levites included this,
“And to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at even” (1 Chronicles 23:30).
We have Jesus’ amazing example of His need to pray,
“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35).
If Jesus, the perfect Son of God in human flesh, felt the need to spend time daily with His Father in prayer, how much more we who are sinful humans need to pray?
“Will I Direct My Prayer”
This is an essential concept in prayer. David “directed” the words of his prayer to the LORD.
This word David wrote, “direct—literally [means], ‘set in order,’ as the showbread was placed or set in order (Exodus 40:23)”[1] (JFB).
The priests dare not lay out the showbread in any random way they wanted! There was a proper way God prescribed to Moses for this to be done. The showbread must always be “set in order.”
David said he will think through what he will pray to God. He will “set his prayer in order.” He isn’t just throwing words up to God haphazardly. He knows what he needs to say, and he lays it out before the Lord, his words being “set in order.” Jesus cautioned His disciples against praying like the heathen do with their repetitive babbling.
“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking” (Matthew 6:7).
If our praying does not make any sense to us, how do we know what we are asking God for? Jesus’ example of prayer in the Bible is clear, direct, and non-repetitive.
“After this manner, therefore, pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen” (Matthew 6:9-13).
This method of arranged, “set in order” praying is what Jesus taught His disciples.
“To You.”
David’s prayer is directed to the only One who can help him, the LORD (Jehovah). Since he has unburdened himself by prayer, now he “will look up” and wait.
Perhaps the most challenging part of praying is waiting for His answer. Come back tomorrow, and we will try to learn more about looking up for the answer to our prayer.
Quote: “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).
[1] ESV is the English Standard Version of the Bible.
[2] HSB is the Harvest Study Bible, from Harvest Ministries, in Guam.
[3] JFB, Jamison, Fausset, and Brown. Jamison-Fausset-Brown’s Commentary, the electronic version in eSword. Psalm 5:3.